


Sinful Behaviors

by DarkHououmon



Series: The Black Chalk Trilogy [1]
Category: ChalkZone
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-26 13:44:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 46
Words: 179,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkHououmon/pseuds/DarkHououmon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't think you understand your potential, Tabootie. You waste your talents on creating useless friends, prancing around as their 'hero'. But you can be more than that. Oh so much more..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"It...it can't be..." A woman whispered under her breath, her eyes fixated.

She sat in her chair, thinking. She tried to make sense of what she saw. She rubbed her chin, contemplating all the possibilities through her mind. Some logical explanation would make itself known. Soon, any time now...

...no, nothing could explain this. Nothing that was within her field of understanding. The 40-year old woman looked at the photograph time and time again. No amount of eye rubbing and shakes of the head could erase what she saw. It challenged everything she knew about logic and rules of physics. Had this been a CGI picture, she'd buy it. But no, this was a photograph, and none like she had ever seen before.

In the photograph was a 15 year old boy. Brown hair, wearing a dull green shirt and brown pants. He looked like he needed to see the dentist as he had buck teeth sticking out of his mouth. With him was a girl looking to be around the same age. She appeared to be hispanic, had a pair of glasses on, dirty yellow shirt with a plaid skirt, and her hair was also brown, though taking more of a reddish color.

They were standing near the chalkboard, appearing to be erasing it. Nothing unusual there. But there was more to it than that. If it had just been that, she would have given the person who gave her the photo a good slap on the wrist for wasting her time. No, what was of interest wasn't the teenagers specifically, but what was in the photo with them.

She had to look really closely, but she saw something appearing to almost...glow behind the geography map covering part of the chalkboard. It was subtle, but it was enough to send an alarm bell ringing in the woman's mind. There would not have been any light source to produce that. It was clear where the light source was coming from. She could see the outline of a hole.

And that wasn't the only thing she noticed...

Something blue was visible in the hole. It was really hard to tell. There wasn't much of the hole revealed. But she could have sworn she could see a blue-colored face staring at the children.

In her mind, the woman had to wonder if there was a room hidden behind the chalkboard. It would explain everything, the glowing light and the mysterious figure. He could be a friend or acquaintance wanting to scare the two teenagers. Even at that age, they can still be a little immature, so she'd expect such behavior from them.

Yet something didn't add up. She had been to this school before. She had seen enough of its architecture to know a hidden room just wasn't possible. And what teacher could use a hidden room anyway? And how did that blue boy get in this supposed room? There would have been no place, unless he crawled in. But what kind of room only has a circular opening? What's the purpose?

Something else seemed off about this blue boy. Something she didn't notice until she brought out a magnifying glass and peered closer. Something was off about his body. There appeared to be a sort of outline...Outline? But people don't have outlines... Why did this boy have it? And why did it look porous, almost like a...chalk drawing?

The woman stared, mouth open, as she fell back against her chair. Could it really be possible? All the sanity in her told her it was impossible. Yet here was the evidence before her. The photograph wasn't altered. She had been given the camera by the guy she hired and got the pictures developed. This was the real deal.

She tried to keep her heart from racing and rubbed her head, fighting off the ache that was starting to take her. This started out as such a simple project. They were documenting student misconduct, photographing students that had broken school rules. Granted they were supposed to get permission from the students to be photographed, but the man she sent out to take the photos didn't care about that.

And now she wasn't sure if she was happy or deeply disturbed. Never once, in this routine 'find a story for the paper' had she expected something like this. Could she really send this to the newspaper? What if the...the thing she saw was a chalk drawing come to life?

As absurd as that sounded, she didn't want to take the chance this get out to public. A riot was the last thing she wanted. But...she couldn't just keep this to herself, could she? No, this was too...incredible to just keep to herself. Who could she tell? Who would believe her?

She almost jerked in surprise when a large hand rested on her shoulder.

"What is the matter, Ms. Saffron?"

She looked up, staring into familiar eyes. Where had he come from? How long had he watched her before doing anything?

"Mr. Cosmo, I..."

Without asking permission, he grabbed the photograph from her hands and examined it. From the expression on his face, it was clear he had noticed the same thing she did. But instead of being horrified like she expected, or outright question it, a smile, almost eerie, crept across his face.

He murmured in a near inaudible voice, "So...there's another..." He looked over at her. "Prepare for long nights, Ms. Saffron. We are going to be busy, you and I."

She scooted out of her seat. "Sir, what are you planning?"

His foosteps ceased. He gave her a sideways glance. "You will see..."


	2. Apply Yourself, Rudy

A small bottle was lifted up into the air. Inside, a clear liquid rolled back and forth. The lid keeping it inside was soon removed. The bottle tilted to the side. Gravity went to work. The liquid flowed down towards the opening. It dripped out of the front like a leaky faucet and down into a small cup sitting down below. The liquid stopped only when it reached the half way point of the cup.

Seconds later, something cylinder and white was dropped into the liquid. It floated, no, sank to the bottom like a heavy rock. There it rested as a torrent of white shot out from its sides. The reaction was violent at first, but soon it calmed down. The white torrents still occurred, but at a much slower pace. It would go on like this for a very long time, if it were allowed.

But there was no time for that, not where this was taking place.

"Ta-dah!" Rudy exclaimed proudly, his arms outstretched like he had performed some kind of miracle. "And that is what happens when you mix chalk with vinegar!"

Rudy wasn't sure what he was expecting, but dead silence wasn't one of them. None of the students looked impressed with his experiment. Well it wasn't that he expected them to be, but he had hoped that they would at least compliment on his attempt. It was still a reaction, wasn't it?

He could hear grumblings from Mr. Wilter. Rudy couldn't believe that he was still stuck with the same teacher from five years ago. Every year he would return to school, there was Mr. Wilter. It was okay at first, but then as years passed, it became harder to sneak anything by him. And just how was he getting these promotions anyway?

He found his thoughts interrupted when Mr. Wilter began to speak. Rudy's ears were aching from the familiar ring of Wilter's yelling.

"Mr. Tabootie! That was the worst experiment I have ever seen!" Mr. Wilter's eyes seemed to bore into Rudy. "If you had done this experiment in the sixth grade, I might have considered giving you an admirable grade. But Rudy, you are fifteen years old and this is the best you can come up with? How shameful! Maybe if you spent more time studying than watching cartoons, you would have come up with a more age appropriant experiment!"

Rudy could hear chuckling from students behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. Everyone was sniggering at him, except Penny of course. He heard a few comments like 'What a lame-o, thinking that would get him a winning grade', 'Man how did this kid get this far?', and 'He's just as stupid as I've heard.' He tried not to let those words get to him. He concentrated any anger he felt into a brief shudder that, thankfully, Wilter did not notice.

"So...I'm getting an F, aren't I?" Rudy said softly.

A silence. Then a reply. "..no."

Rudy looked up in surprise. "No?"

Mr. Wilter shook his head. "As much as I am appalled by your lack of effort, I'll give you a passing grade. C+!"

A C+? That wasn't what he wanted. Rudy wanted at least a B-. He felt a wave of disappointment strike him. He should be happy to be getting a passing grade. He had been coming home with F's too often. Even a C+ would bring a smile to his parents' faces.

But he couldn't bring himself to be happy. He wanted a better grade. He wanted to show his parents and his classmates he was capable of getting good grades despite being a 'mere artist'. He should have gone with something better. Why hadn't he gone with Snap's idea and do a volcano experiment instead? That would have at least been more impressive to look at.

"Next time, I expect more from you, Rudy. I think you can be quite the capable young man if you spend some time away from your...art...and more time on things actually important, like your work." Mr. Wilter said.

Rudy turned his head away, a frown finding its way on there. Again with the art insults. It was bad enough the students gave him a hard time for it. Why did Mr. Wilter feel the need to deride him for it, too?

"Take your seat Rudy." Mr. Wilter said as he stacked some paper together.

Rudy returned to his seat in less of a good mood than he was before. He watched as the next student, whose name he always forgot, impressed and wowed many of his classmates, and even Mr. Wilter. Rudy didn't know what he did. He had his head turned. He was not in the mood to see the other experiments, for they were just a painful reminder of how things could have gone if he had put more effort into his work.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Penny, who sat just behind him, gave him a reassuring smile. Rudy, despite his bad mood, smiled back. If there was any experiment he wouldn't mind seeing, it would be whatever she dished out. His smile faded. Why hadn't he asked Penny for help? Why did he insist on doing his own thing? Things seem to work better when they are partnered up. Maybe it was because she was more no-nonsense than him and actually got the work done.

"You give it your best shot, Rudy." Penny said, leaning forward so Rudy could hear her better without her drawing attention from Mr. Wilter.

"Yeah, but it could have been better." Rudy murmured under his breath.

"It's the thought that counts." Penny replied. "A C+ is better than an F. Sure, it isn't exactly a great grade, but think of it this way. It's going to raise your grade point average a little. That is something at least, isn't it?"

"You heard Mr. Wilter. My love of 'stupid cartoons' is making me stupid." Rudy said. It was more of a slip of the tongue, but it still got the message across.

Penny shook her head. "You know that's not true, Rudy."

As Penny searched for something to cheer Rudy up with, they both were startled by the sound of something heavy falling and hitting the tile floor. The two students looked left and ride, eyes widened, frantically looking for the sound, as if some predator were about to lung at them.

They immediately stopped when the sound of laughter swept through the room. The two finally saw a book near Mr. Wilter's desk. Mr. Wilter was standing right in front of it, his eyes looking through at them. It took seconds for them to realize what had happened. With the laughter all around them, they began to sink down into their seats.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Mr. Wilter asked, hands on his hips. The laughter had stopped as soon as Mr. Wilter spoke. "Or are you two lovebirds finished now?"

At the word 'lovebirds', a blush developed on both Rudy's and Penny's faces, which caused a few extra sniggers from some classmates.

Mr. Wilter pointed at Penny. "Ms. Sanchez, since you are so eager to speak, why don't you do your experiment next?"

Penny stammered. "W-Well I..."

Mr. Wilter leaned toward her, almost towering over her. "Or did you take some lessons from Mr. Tabootie and slacked off?"

Penny glared at him. She wanted to defend Rudy, but knew that Mr. Wilter rarely ever apologized. Instead, she took in a deep breath and got out of her seat. She took a few steps towards the front. She stopped next to Mr. Wilter.

In a harsh whisper, she said, "Okay..I will..."

Mr. Wilter blinked at her. He said nothing and returne to his seat. He got out a pen and watched as Penny started her experiment.

sss

After class, the bell rang for lunch time. For many students, this ring was like taking ice cream on a hot summer day. It was the only time in school where students didn't have to listen to a teacher blab on about something. Recess didn't exist for the older students, which was a source of frustration for many. Rudy especially, as it meant he had less time for ChalkZone.

Speaking of ChalkZone, that had been on Penny's mind since they sat down to eat. It was the very thing she had wanted to tell Rudy about earlier, until they were interrupted by Mr. Wilter. Her own mood was soured by what the man had said about Rudy. But ChalkZone usually brightened up her day, as well as Rudy's.

And today was a very special day, for two reasons.

"What do you say we take a trip to ChalkZone after school?" Penny suggested as she chewed on a carrot stick.

Rudy fiddled around with a small piece of meat on his plate. He still looked forelorn from earlier. "I dunno Penny... I mean usually I am for going to ChalkZone, but not today."

"Huh?" Penny looked genuinely surprised. "But you love going to ChalkZone."

"Sorry Penny. I'm just worried about what my folks are going to say." Rudy said, staring at his food. "I promised them I'd get a good grade..."

"And you did. So stop moping about it." Penny placed her hand on his. "And if it really troubles you that much, I'll help you next time, okay?"

Rudy did start feeling a little better. Penny usually knew what to say to drive out any feeling of doubt he was having. She was right. There was no point in being upset about it. What's done is done. He straightened himself up and offered the best smile he could at the time.

"Thanks Penny." He paused, and said, "So was there a particular reason you wanted to go to ChalkZone? Or is it just my 'get better soon' gift?" He gave her a wink.

Penny chuckled and shook her head. "No, silly...well yes I want you to feel better and a trip to ChalkZone usually does the trick. But there's more to it this time, than that. Today is a special day, Rudy." He looked at her with a perplexed expression. Penny tilted her head. "What? You don't remember? Rudy, it's the seventh year anniversary that you found ChalkZone."

Rudy's eyes widened. "I totally forgot..."

"And that also means that it's Snap's seventh birthday." Penny added.

Rudy stared at Penny in disbelief. He felt like a total jerk for forgetting this stuff. There was no excuse. Even though he was busy with school, he felt he should have paid more attention to the dates. Had Snap made plans already? Had he been too late now? Rudy struggled against the thoughts multiplying in his head.

Yes, yes, he was remembering now. Snap had spoke to him a few days ago about his upcoming birthday. He had been planning a birthday bash with all his friends and invited both Rudy and Penny to show up.

"I can't believe you forgot." Penny said, the tone of her voice backing up what she said. "ChalkZone and Snap mean a lot to you. How did it slip your..." She paused and thought about it. It had been a rough few days due to all the school work they had to deal with, so she kind of understood how he could have forgotten. "Well anyway, did you wanna go? As if I have to ask."

"Of course I do. I just wish that Snap would have planned his party on the same day as the anniversary." Rudy said with a smile.

He recalled Snap specifically wanted the party the day after. It amused him every year Snap does this. He insisted on being more recognized and felt that having the celebration on the same day as the anniversary would 'cramp his style', though Rudy thought it was because people would be more focused on Rudy's anniversary of finding ChalkZone than on some blue superhero boy.

"You know how Snap can be." Penny said as she finished up her lunch. She looked up at the analog clock hanging on the wall. "Lunch time is almost over. We should get ready to leave."

Rudy nodded. "The good thing about lunch is that it is in the middle of the day. Only a couple more hours of school left and we are home free."

sss

School was finally over. The final bell at rung. Students ran out of the doors, eager to return home. Even some of the older students displayed a similar eagerness to run outside after the final bell rang. And Rudy certainly was no exception. He was running down the halls, not being able to waste another second in that dingy building. He couldn't wait to get out of there and into the chalk world, where everything was always bright and colorful.

He stopped in the hallway when he heard someone talking pretty loudly. He recognized the voice as Mr. Wilter. He frowned as that name floated in his mind. Oh how he would love to prove him wrong, to show him he is just as capable as any of his 'prize' students.

Despite his mind screaming at him to leave, Rudy felt an unusual compelling to listen into Mr. Wilter's conversation. What could it hurt? Not like he would be surprised by anything that man said. It was probably another argument with a parent about cartoons. Although still angry, Rudy sometimes found Wilter's almost paranoia of cartoons to be a source of hilarity.

He leaned himself against the door to Mr. Wilter's room. He pressed his hear flat against it and strained to hear the conversation. With most teachers, this would be hard to do. But with Mr. Wilter, it was almost assured that one could hear practically every word he said.

"Who is calling me? I am busy right now grading my students...oh it's you! I'm sorry, Mr. Cosmo. I didn't realize that today was...oh you want to come to the school tomorrow? Why? Oh, I see. Yes, yes, you are fully welcome to come to my classroom. I assure you that you will be...okay I understand you're busy too. I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Cosmo."

A clang and Rudy knew the conversation was over. The name Mr. Cosmo sounded familiar. It alluded him as to what it was, though. If this person was friends with Mr. Wilter, he wasn't sure if he would like him very much. And knowing Mr. Wilter, they would not get a notice of the man's visit until the day of the visit.

He gave himself a mental reminder to let Penny know of the visit. She always liked to know things ahead of time so she can prepare herself and look good. He didn't fully understand it, but he didn't question it.

He took a few steps before something hit him like a ton of bricks. He suddenly remembered who Mr. Cosmo was and why he sounded so familiar.

He was a reporter he heard about a few months ago. Or rather, he ran a small news group, but still did some reporting of his own, off and on. That was about as much as Rudy knew about him. The fact that he was involved with a news crew filled him with unease. Could he be looking at another Terry incident?

Now he knew he really had to tell Penny about this. And Snap. He could only hope that Mr. Cosmo is as easy to foil as Terry was.


	3. This Is Snap's Party?

"Penny, I look absolutely ridiculous!" Rudy complained from inside the closet.

Penny stood in front of the closet, tapping her toes. "Oh come on, Rudy, it's not that bad! Come on out!"

But Rudy was being very stubborn. She heard him lean loudly against the door and she imagined he was crossing his arms. "No way! Not until you let me wear what I want!"

Penny walked up to the closet and knocked on it a few times. Not that she thought it would work, but they were in a bit of a hurry. "Snap's party is going to start soon! He'll be upset if we aren't there in time! You don't want to disappoint him, do you?"

"No, and I don't want to humiliate him either by showing up in this." Rudy said.

"But we'll look so cute together!" Penny said.

"No!"

Penny frowned. She had to find some way to get Rudy to come out. They didn't have much time left to get to ChalkZone. She understood that he would never want to disappoint Snap, but that was the very reason he didn't want to go in his...current state. He must really believe he'd upset Snap especially if he showed up dressed the way he was. For a moment, she thought of giving in and letting him dress the way he wants to.

No, she wanted to be firm with him on this. She had planned these outfits for a few months. She wished Rudy wouldn't be so difficult and step out of his comfort zone once in a while. She did that for him once a year ago. Now it was time for him to return the favor.

She looked over at the chalkboard. A smile crept onto her face. She knew exactly how to get Rudy to come out. She went over to the door and swung it open, then began to slam her feet into the ground to try to sound larger than she was.

Then she put on her best Mrs. Tabootie impression.

"Rrruuudy! Dear? Where are yooouuu?"

No surprise, Rudy didn't come out. Likely he was so embarrassed he didn't even trust his own mother seeing him like that. No matter, Penny had expected this and had another trick up her sleeve. Making sure she still sounded loud, she went up to the chalkboard and grabbed a piece of ordinary chalk.

"Ruuudyyy? Honeyyy? Come on ouuut!"

Penny took the chalk and pressed it against the board. She slowly drew a circle, the squeaky sound of chalk against board clearly heard. She dropped the chalk on the ground and kicked a few things over to resemble stumbling back.

"R-Rudy? What is this?" Penny gripped the chalk board and swung it around and pushed it forcefully back down. "I think I need to take my meds! Oh wait I have none...I need some now! Wait I can go in? What happens if I..."

Practically on cue, the closet door swung open. A resounding "No!" echoed out of Rudy's mouth as he rushed out to stop his mother...

...dressed as a flower.

Rudy stopped when he realized he had been had. He saw Penny leaning against the chalkboard, smirking almost smugly. He could have sworn her eyes were screaming at him 'I got you good didn't I'. As the shock of what happened left him, it was soon replaced by anger.

"Penny! How could you?!" Rudy pointed a finger at her. "You know we never joke around with that stuff! What if it was the real deal?!"

Penny seized his hand before he could go back to the closet. "I know, and I'm sorry. But it was the only way to get you to come out." She dragged Rudy towards the chalkboard. "Come on, we'll be late for Snap's party if we don't hurry up."

"But...I look...stupid." Rudy complained.

"Well I think you look cute." Penny smiled at him.

Rudy looked at her, surprised. "R-Really?"

Penny nodded her head. She looped an arm around him and pulled him close. "Well of course I do, silly!" Her smile broaded when she saw him return hers with his own goofy smile. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, causing them to turn red. "And I'm going to be your bumble bee." She pulled out a hat with two antennas attached to it. "So we'll look silly together."

Rudy was in a daze for a few seconds due to the kiss. He regained his composure and, feeling encouraged by Penny, picked up the magic chalk. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

He drew a portal and the two climbed inside. Rudy made sure to erase the portal just in case his parents happened into his room. It was one thing when it was just Penny, but the real deal was no joke. He had left a note behind just in case htey went into his bedroom, but he wasn't sure how long that would fool them.

As Rudy and Penny walked around in ChalkZone, they noticed a long line of zoners, all going in the same direction. The two were impressed, and a little disturbed, by how long the line was. If this was the line to Snap's party, they couldn't fathom at just how their little blue friend was going to fit all these people into his home, or even Rapsheeba's home.

Rudy walked up to one of the zoners in line. He tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "Uh, excuse me? Could you tell me what this line is for?"

The zoner, with a big smile on his face, said, "It's for Snap's birthday!"

Rudy slumped his shoulders. "That figures. When it comes to him, Snap wants everything big, doesn't he?"

"Yep!" The zoner said. He made a motion with his arms, spreading them outward. "He's invited everyone in ChalkZone!"

Rudy and Penny were shocked. Startled, they took a step back. They glanced back at the line. Everyone in ChalkZone? Just what kind of party was this? Snap had insisted on a costume party because he felt they were the most fun to host. But costume parties were usually not this large. Just what was Snap doing?

Another thought crossed their minds. If he invited everyone, wouldn't that mean that some less desirables, like Skrawl and Craniac 4, were going to show up? Then again, they couldn't imagine either of them going. Skrawl always hid some place and only occassionaly came out to attempt a scheme, and Craniac 4 was always busy in his Dome Of The Future to bother with anything fun.

The zoner seemed to almost hear their thoughts. "And don't worry, he didn't invite any of your enemies. He said they would spoil his moment."

Penny giggled. "Yeah, that sounds like Snap alright." She glanced at the line. "But look at this line. It will take us forever just to get in!"

Rudy nodded. "Yeah I know. And I don't know if my note will fool my parents forever."

Penny asked, "What did you write in the note?"

"That you and I went out shopping." Rudy admitted. When he saw Penny's expression, he sighed. "Yeah I know. I don't think my parents would believe the story of us going down to the minimall in town for five hours, or however long this party will last."

Another zoner, female this time, waved to Rudy and Penny to get their attention. Once she did, she said, "Oh you two don't have to wait in line! Snap says he put you two on the VIP list. You can go on ahead!"

"Really?" Rudy and Penny said in unison, smiling and looking relieved.

The second zoner nodded her head. She pointed at the direction the people were heading in. "Just follow the line down there! Biclops will let you in!"

"Okay thanks!" Rudy waved at the zoner as he and Penny walked along the line. He wiped his forehead. "Phew, that's a relief!"

Penny said, "Agreed. I guess Snap may have foreseen this predicament and thought ahead."

Rudy smirked at her. "Or maybe he just wants to share his big moment with his closest real worlder friends."

Penny pointed at him. "Yeah, there is that."

They walked along the line for about fifteen minutes. The line was much longer than they thought it was. Up and down hills it went. They were starting to get a little tired when they heard the sound of Biclops's voice. They must finally be at the entrance now.

They ran around the corner and stopped dead in their tracks. There was Biclops alright. He was letting everyone in one by one, wishing them all to have a good time. But behind Biclops was the reason the two teenagers had stopped.

"Well...I guess that is how he was going to get everyone in..." Rudy whispered under his breath, Penny nodding in agreement.

It wasn't a house Snap was having the party in. It was a mansion. The biggest mansion they had ever laid eyes on. The thing looked almost like a skyscraper with how tall it was, and it was about as wide. It was so large that Rudy could easily see it fitting almost every zoner into it. It was even large enough for Biclops to squeeze through.

Rudy never recalled this being here before. It must have been recently drawn, perhaps by someone with big ambitions for the future. Indeed, it looked like this house could support everything, even a farm and an indoor lake.

"Hey Rudy, Penny!" Biclops spotted them and waved to them to come forward. "I was expecting you two!" He gestured for them to go into the mansion. "Snap is waiting for you inside. Go on in!"

The two waved at Biclops and headed into the mansion. The doors were massive, as if they were made for someone Biclops's size. And inside was just as impressive. The structure reminded them of a mall, except the shops would be much larger and more elaborate here. Several huge light chandeliers hung overhead, lighting the mansion's ballroom.

There was an upper level above them. A twin pair of red carpeted staircases spiraled above them and met at the opposite sides of the floor above them. They could see more stairs above them, about ten pairs at least, which gave them some idea at how many floors this mansion had.

Every part of this mansion was impressive to look at. Even something as simple as the ballroom. It was just one large room, like any other ballroom, but it was very fancy, complete with beautiful lighting and well placed tall windows. At a glance, it looked like Snap was throwing a sophisticated party, but the other costumed zoners dancing wildly and the presence of fried food such as crispy chicken threw that idea out the window.

"Amazing." Rudy said, the place feeling more massive than it looked. "Snap sure knows how to pick the right houses to throw parties in."

"Wow..." Penny said as they walked slowly around the mansion. She looked around. "This place is humongous!"

"Well of course it is!"

The two swerved around and saw Snap standing there. Unlike the others, he was not wearing a costume. He was standing next to one of the windows. He was smiling very widely at the two, as if he had been waiting for them forever and was plain happy to see them now.

"Snap!" Rudy said. He and Penny walked up to him. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Rudy!" Snap said. When Penny followed suit, he gave a small nod to her. "And thank you, too, Penny. I'm glad you two could show up!" He paused as he stared at Rudy's flower costume. "Uh..Bucko? Why are you dressed like that?"

Rudy blushed slightly. He shook his head in Penny's direction. "It was her idea."

Snap glanced over at Penny. He finally took notice of her bumblebee costume. "Oh..." He saw how uncomfortable Rudy looked. Wanting to cheer him up, he said, "Well, you two do look cute together."

Rudy perked up almost immediately. "Thanks, Snap."

"No prob!" Snap grinned.

"Snap, why aren't you wearing a costume? Wasn't this a costume party?" Penny asked, holding her hands to her sides in confusion.

"Me? In a costume? Nah!" Snap said, waving his hand in front of himself. "If I wear a costume, how will everyone know it is me? How can I be a star if I just blend in with everyone?" He knocked himself gently on the head. "Come on! This is my chance at the big time! Now is the time for me to stand out and get the attention I deserve!"

Penny smiled sly at him. "Is that why you chose a mansion to hold the party in? Was it so you could fit all your ego in one place?"

Snap glared at her. "Buckette...You are so lucky I consider you a good friend, or I would..."

Penny gave a small laugh. "Oh come on, Snap, you know I was just joking!"

Snap cooled down quickly. Almost too quickly, but given what day it was, he just wanted to have a good time, not waste it on pitiful anger. "What are you two waiting for? Let's dance!"

"D-Dance?" Rudy said. He looked over at Snap, but he had already disappeared. He was doing some good moves with Rapsheeba on the dance floor. He glanced at Penny and noticed she was smiling at him. "But I..." He gulped. "I don't..."

"Don't be modest, Rudy. I know you can dance!" Penny said.

"But never in a flower costume!" Rudy exclaimed. He looked around at everyone. "What if I look stupid?"

Penny grabbed his two hands and began to pull him onto the dance floor. "You'll be fine! Just relax, trust me."

Soon the two were in the middle of the dance floor. Some of the other zoners made room for them. Penny held onto Rudy's hand while her other was placed at his waist. She guided him through the dancing as some zoners cheered them on.

The sound of the others faded away in Rudy's mind. As the dancing continued, he just focused on Penny. Her vibrant face lightened up his mood. He had forgotten about his embarassment. He forgot some zoners were watching him and her dance. He forgot about his anxiety of dancing in a large room wearing a flower costume. All that was in his mind now was Penny.

"Feeling better now, Rudy?" Penny asked.

Blushing, Rudy said, "Yeah..now I am..."

sss

The party lasted hours into the night. Rudy and Penny didn't stay long enough to see how it ended. They remained for about two hours, dancing, partying, just having a great time. It really did lift Rudy's mood and he had forgotten about the fiasco at school, with what Mr. Wilter had said.

It was difficult to leave. They wanted to remain for the games Snap had planned, as well as him opening his gifts, which was always entertaining with how he reacts to each one as if he were in a drama club. But they had no choice. If their parents found them gone for too long, especially if they came back during dark hours, they would never hear the end of it.

Rudy and Penny came through a new portal drawn on Rudy's chalkboard and it was quickly erased. They took turns and changed back into their own clothes in the closet, keeping the costumes in there for the time being.

Before they had time to do anything, Rudy's mother shouted, "Rrruuudy! Is that you? Come on down, there is someone who wants to speak to yooouuu!"

Rudy winced at that. "Oh it must be Mr. Wilter. Probably going to convince my parents to send me to summer school or something."

With no choice, he and Penny headed down the stairs. They entered the kitchen where Rudy's parents were waiting.

Rudy was surprised that it wasn't Mr. Wilter at all, but he wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. Instead, there was a woman sitting at the dinner table. He was relieved that it wasn't Terry again, though this woman did not look familiar to him. Who was she and what did she want?

"Rudy, this is Ms. Saffron." Mr. Tabootie said, gesturing a hand at the woman. "She's a reporter, and she said she wanted to talk to you."

Rudy's eyes widened. "A...a reporter?" He looked at Penny. She looked just as worried.

"Hello Rudy Tabootie." Ms. Saffron said calmly. She signaled for the boy to come up to her. "Sit down. I have some questions to ask you."


	4. Overstepping Your Boundaries

Rudy was at a loss of what to think. He felt a pressure in his chest. A weird feeling rising inside of him. It was uncomfortable and he tried to fight it. The sudden appearance of this woman, being thrust in this predicament so soon after such a great party, it didn’t mix well in his mind. The shift was so jarring he could feel his head hurting and he was feeling a little queezy.

He worried that Ms. Saffron worked for Terry. It was very possible. Terry may have been considered a nutcase by many, and most were wise not to listen to her. Even her old partner, whom helped her kidnap Snap, had turned his back on her. But Terry was unpredictable; she could have added another player to her game.

But maybe he was just misjudging Ms. Saffron. After all, he didn’t know why she was here. For all he knew, it may just be for something considerably small, such as his opinion on the current state of the roads or something. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration; he doubted a reporter would ask a 15 year old boy something like that. Still, it could just be something small, nothing to worry about.

Rudy found his way to the kitchen table. His mind was so focused on this woman, he didn’t realize Penny had moved in behind him. With no place to sit, she just hung back behind Rudy. Neither of Rudy’s parents asked her to leave and the reporter didn’t seem upset with her presence.

Rudy bit his tongue to keep himself from looking too much on edge. Admittingly, the Terry incident had left him with a sour taste for reporters, and Penny and Snap didn’t blame him. Terry had nearly revealed the existance of ChalkZone. And before that, she had folded Snap up like he was some sort of blanket and shoved into her purse. That kind of treatment of Snap, who he looked at as a sort of little brother he never had, rubbed Rudy the wrong way.

There was silence for a while. No one said anything. The reporter looked as if she were struggling to find the words to say. This sent an alarm to both Rudy and Penny. What was she so hesitant about? Could she really believe in the chalk world like Terry? Could she have come here to interrogate them, get them to reveal its location? And in front of Rudy’s parents, it would be hard to come up with lies that wouldn’t contradict with what they say. What if they screw up and say something completely different than they told Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie?

Rudy and Penny had been keeping ChalkZone a secret for years, Rudy two years longer. The lies they had to tell their parents, as well as everyone else, was staggering. They just piled up and up. It would be so easy and slip up and say something contrary to what they said before. And while it was possible that the people they told won’t remember exactly what they said, there was still the possibility that at least someone would, and that could potentially be enough to cause a stir. Especially if said person were very vocal about it.

The silence was finally broken with the sound of the reporter clearing her throat. She got out a notepad and a pen and set it in front of her. She interlocked her fingers and leaned forward slightly, her eyes staring into Rudy’s.

“Rudy...how is your school life?”

That question shattered all the tension out from Rudy and Penny’s bodies. School? Is that what this is about? They started to feel a little foolish, and even wanted to laugh a little. They had been worried for the past few minutes, thinking of worst case scenarios and questioning some of their plans in the past.

And yet it turns out this reporter was going to ask questions regarding school. Nothing about ChalkZone. They couldn’t feel more relieved. Rudy immediately looked more relaxed and even smiled a little. Answering questions about his time in school isn’t what he had in mind, but it was better than what he thought he’d be doing.

“Yeah, school is fine.” Rudy put his finger in the palm of his hands, tapping as he began to name some things off. “I get up in the morning. I get dressed. I go to school. Slave away for half the day. I come home, hang out with Penny, do my work, sleep. And I begin the cycle all over again.”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head once. “Yes, that is standard for students. I expected you to go. But that isn’t what I was getting at, Rudy.” She took one look at Rudy’s confused expression and raised her head up a little. “I will rephrase my question. How are you performing in school?”

Rudy blinked. Whatever comfort he obtained earlier was gone. “I...I am doing fine...”

Ms. Saffron raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Rudy said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “What is it any of your business?”

“That’s strange, because I spoke with your teacher, Mr. Wilter.” Rudy’s eyes widened at this. Ms. Saffron continued before she would be interrupted by questions. “And he told me that you are one of the worst performing students he’s had. He ranted on and on regarding you paying more attention to art than to the rest of your subjects. Judging from that...” Ms. Saffron’s eyes narrowed. “...I don’t think your school life is just fine, Rudy.”

“Excuse me.” Penny interrupted, holding out a hand to draw the woman’s attention to her. “But what exactly are you doing a report on if it requires talking to Rudy about his school performance?”

“Yeah, I’d like to know too.” Mr. Tabootie said.

Mrs. Tabootie couldn’t agree more. “Enlighten us.” Her tone had an underlining hint of anger, as if she was not happy about where this was going. “We would be most interested.”

Ms. Saffron sucked in a deep breath. Her expression hardened a little, showing she was not joking about what she was about to say next. Her fingers fumbled for the pen as she formulated her thoughts in her mind.

“I am doing a report on student performance in school. I’ve interviewed several students based on their academic performance, from best...to worst.” She almost glared in Rudy’s direction as she said this. “The report is crucial into figuring out how to improve our education system. The only type of person left I need to report is the school deliquent. Someone who performs exceptionally terrible.”

She saw the looks in the others’ eyes. Rudy’s parents looked visibly angered. And they hardly ever get truly angry. One must really try to tick them off. Penny looked shocked, but also clearly upset. And Rudy...Rudy was just staring at her with widened eyes.

Ms. Saffron continued, “I have taken an interest in you, Rudy Tabootie. Granted, you aren’t the worst student at your school. No, there’s a few others with worse grades. But you...you are by far the most interesting delinquent I could find. Because unlike the others, you aren’t failing because you’re stupid. You’re failing because you are obviously making stupid choices. You are keeping yourself a failure. And that is why I have taken great interest in talking to you, Rudy Tabootie.”

Rudy stared blankly at Ms. Saffron, watching her almost mocking smile spread on her face, as he felt the full impact of what was said hit him. It was amazing how much a negative comment about him could practically erase all previously happy memories. He forgot about Snap’s party. He forgot about Penny’s encouraging words. All he could think of now was what Ms. Saffron said.

He normally didn’t let it bother him. Some other students teased him about his grades. He usually let it roll off his back. It helped that adventures with Penny and Snap helped him forget all that.

The reporter’s words caused all those hurtful words to come back tenfold. It hurt him. It stung him deeply. He didn’t want to be thought of and remembered as the purposeful failure, the person who deliberately failed. He didn’t want to be remembered as the guy who could have made a difference in his life, but did not. He tried to push out the taunting words. They would not leave him.

Ms. Saffron’s words didn’t just impacted Rudy. If Rudy’s parents were hiding their anger before, they let it be known crystal clear.

Mr. Tabootie slammed his hand against the table, shaking it slightly. Once he had Ms. Saffron’s attention, he said, “Now just a gosh darn minute! Are you saying you came all this way just to humiliate our boy?!”

“Well I...”

“I just don’t believe it. The nerve of people like you!” Mrs. Tabootie waggled her finger back and forth as if she were scolding a child. “Coming here and tormenting my Rudy just so you can make a quick buck at your news station! The things you reporters come up with for a so-called good story!”

Penny decided to chime in. “Rudy is not stupid!” She put a comforting hand on his shoulder, staring firmly at the woman who caused his current state of mind. “You don’t know anything about him!”

Ms. Saffron just shrugged her shoulders. “I never said I did. That is why I wanted to ask him questions.” She paused, and then said, “I also did not say he was stupid. But he still qualifies as a delinquint in my eyes and...”

Mrs. Tabootie gripped Ms. Saffron by her business suit and yanked her from the seat. “What you think does not matter here, missy! I will not let you sit around her toiling with my son’s mind with your lies! I want you to get out of my house. Now!”

As she was being pushed towards the door, Ms. Saffron still offered up some resistance. She planted her feet firmly on the ground. She gripped the sides of the kitchen entrance. She pushed back on Mrs. Tabootie until she released her.

“You don’t understand! This research is very important! It can help students everywhere!” The reporter glanced momentarily at Rudy. “Including your son!”

Mr. Tabootie stood next to his wife. “My son doesn’t need your kind of help!” In agreement, his wife and Penny nodded. “Now do us all a favor and get out of here...”

Ms. Saffron opened her mouth to speak, but soon shut it. Everyone in the room, except Rudy, were still glaring at her. If they could shoot beams, she’d surely be burnt to a crisp by now. She let out a soft sigh, realizing she had overstepped her boundaries. She turned around to leave, but then she paused and looked over her shoulder, directly at Rudy.

With what could be best described as an apologetic look, she said in a barely audible voice, “...be careful, kid.”

As soon as they heard the door close, and knew the reporter was gone, Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie turned to each other.

“Can you believe the nerve of that woman?” Mrs. Tabootie grumbled.

“Some people are so insensitive!” Mr. Tabootie agreed. He turned and looked at Rudy. “Are you going to be okay, son?”

Rudy, who had been in something of a trance, snapped out of it and nodded his head wearily. “Yeah...I’ll be okay, dad.”

His voice didn’t sound sincere, and his dad caught it. “Well, if you ever need to talk someone, we’ll be here. You can tell your mother and I anything.”

“That’s right, dear.” Mrs. Tabootie went over and gave Rudy a hug. “Don’t listen to anything that...reporter said about you, okay?”

“Oh...okay...” Rudy mumbled, his eyes downcast.

Penny leaned in towards Rudy. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Rudy looked at her. She was surprised by the near absence of emotion that were in his eyes. “I told you, I’m fine. I just..need to rest.”

When Rudy reached his room, he collapsed on his bed. He couldn’t believe what he had been told by the reporter. No one had ever called him a delinquent before, not even Mr. Wilter. And he realized, with a lump in his throat, that it was because he didn’t fit a delinquent profile, not in his eyes. He hadn’t thought of it then, but now he realized there was another reason why his parents got so angry at Ms. Saffron.

A delinquent was a juvenile who commited acts of crime and was uncontrollable by authority. Now the woman’s words sounded all that much more harsher. She wasn’t just calling him a failure. She was calling him a criminal.

For someone whose job was to protect an entire world, unseen and unknown by most people in the real world, being called a criminal didn’t exactly bring warm feelings. And what was worse, perhaps he really was a delinquent.

How many times had he broken in somewhere? What of the times he trespassed? Or the time he had tampered with the mail due to his own mistake? Granted, he had no malicious intentions. But that wouldn’t matter to a cop. Heck, he had gotten himself and Penny nearly arrested when he trespassed on an old school to get some love letter for his dad. The officer seemed willing to allow Vinnie to press charges against him; he only stopped when Vinnie seemed to have lost his mind.

He looked over at the chalkboard. He thought about going back into ChalkZone. Snap’s party, which he knew was still going on, might be able to cheer him up again.

He soon put his head down. No, he didn’t want to go ChalkZone, not now. A good night’s sleep would help him feel better. Yes, tomorrow would be a better day...

...except for Mr. Cosmo. He had forgotten all about that man. He was going to be at the school tomorrow. And he was another reporter, just like Ms. Saffron. A sickening feeling rose in his gut. Was he going to interrogate him, too? Did he think of him as a delinquent, like Ms. Saffron called him?

In a split second, Rudy snapped his eyes wide. He had forgotten to tell Penny and Snap about this man. Snap, he could tell later, but he needed to tell Penny now. In an instant, he let go of what transpired in the kitchen, his mind now filled with dread as he realized he may have to deal with a second reporter. He was about to get up and go get her when he heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he was relieved to see it was Penny.

“Rudy, I...”

Rudy cut her off. “Penny, I’m glad you came up here!”

Penny looked surprised. In what looked like a matter of seconds, Rudy went from being depressed to suddenly being more alert. It was almost like he had forgotten about what that nasty woman called him.

“What is it Rudy?” She asked.

“On the way home from school today,” Rudy explained. “I overheard Mr. Wilter talking to some guy. It turned out to be Mr. Cosmo!”

“Mr. Cosmo? Isn’t he a renouned reporter?” Penny asked.

Rudy nodded. “Yes, and he’s coming at our school tomorrow!”

“Oh my...”

Rudy had the same thoughts. Just his luck. This is just what they needed. Another reporter to worry about. They didn’t know what to expect. One reporter was bad enough, but two? They would have to be on full alert tomorrow. Until they knew his intentions, they would not put their guard down around him.


	5. And An Ego To Match

Ms. Saffron groaned in frustration as it started to rain heavily. “Well that’s just great. The weather didn’t forecast this!” She pressed a button on her car, activating the windshield wipers.

Even with the wipers’ help, it was still hard to see. The rain was coming down hard. There was so much of it, she could see the roads were covered in a sheet of water. She could see the millions of ripples move through the extremely shallow water as the rain droplets hit.

The liquid made steering a little more difficult. She hated it when it rained. Her news van’s size made it harder to drive in. She did have an option for one better built for all weather, but no, she had to go cheap and get this piece of junk. Oh well, nothing she can do about it now.

She started thinking about Mr. Cosmo’s plans. They were...unpredictable to say the least. If she hadn’t known him well, she would have thought he was joking. The way he wanted to execute his scheme was quite different than she had expected, feeling like it involved leaping through a lot of holes and relying on luck.

Yet despite her skepticism, she still agreed to help him. He promised that he wouldn’t let this discovery spring onto the public. He said he wanted to be secretive just like she wanted. He had guaranteed, with all that was about to unfold, the public would be none the wiser.

A part of her had some doubts, but she fought not to let it show. She had worked with Mr. Cosmo for years and he certainly earned her respect. She trusted his judgment and knew when he was speaking the truth. And, to an extent, she felt safe with Mr. Cosmo. Before she worked with him, she had to compete with some rival reporters who had given her a hard time. Mr. Cosmo took her under his wing and the rest was history.

A questioning of her loyalty to him felt like a back stab to her. How could she doubt him after all he had done for her? How dare she begin to doubt him when he had proven himself time and again to her?

But then, this time was different. They were dealing with something that no one else knew about, save for two children. This something was so different, so bizarre, she couldn’t help but feel frightened by it. It was something that she didn’t want to be publicized, at least not until more about it was understood and the risk factors taken note of.

They were dealing with a world made of chalk. Just how was she supposed to digest this information? How were she and Mr. Cosmo supposed to treat it, react to it? These thoughts plagued her mind as she went to pick him up from his house.

She parked in front of the large pale yellow house. She looked at the house as she waited for Mr. Cosmo to come out. They didn’t have much time. School started soon and Mr. Wilter was expecting him to show up. At most, they had about ten minutes to spare. But she wasn’t too concerned; Mr. Cosmo was usually on time about stuff like this.

As she waited, she stared at his house being bombarded by the rain droplets. It, along with the yellow color, made the house appear to almost glow. In a sense, it felt almost symbolic to her. Mr. Cosmo was the one person she could trust the most, the one person who had made her life feel better. The glow made his house appear almost like a safe haven, inviting and comforting. It was almost...beautiful.

She shook her head. No, she couldn’t get lost in that. Not now, when she had important work to get done. She had her own instructions of what to do after Mr. Cosmo went into the classroom. She mustn’t lose sight of that.

A minute later, she saw the door open. Mr. Cosmo came out, holding only a dark blue umbrella to shield himself from the rain. He was dressed a little differently. A little more informal. She guessed it was because he was going to a school. The dress code wasn’t as strict there as it is down at the news station. She also guessed it was because he wanted to make himself look friendlier and more approachable to the students. Perhaps it was to keep those teenagers, Rudy and Penny, off guard.

Mr. Cosmo got into the passenger’s seat. He folded up his umbrella and placed it next to him. He gave her a single nod to start driving. She pressed the gas pedal, aiming to go as fast as she could without causing the vehicle to topple over.

“Whoa there.” He said, a little surprised by how fast they were moving already. “We have plenty of time to get there!”

“But the school will...” Saffron said.

“I’m not due to appear in the classroom until about an hour from now. So please, slow down.” He said in a soothing voice.

As she slowed down to a much more comfortable pace, Ms. Saffron’s mind went to the boy, Rudy. The meeting the other day hadn’t gone exactly as planned. She had been prepared for resistance. She had expected the boy to snap at her. What she hadn’t expected was him turning so silent suddenly after she told him the reason she was there. And the reaction from his parents was a tad more extreme than what she thought she’d encounter.

And a part of her was actually relieved about that. Had they not reacted like that, she would have had to say more to Rudy, and by that point, she actually had nothing else to add. She hadn’t come prepared with questions. She was simply following Mr. Cosmo’s orders, which she still couldn’t make sense of.

She decided to bring it up.

“Mr. Cosmo, sir?” When the man looked at her, she asked, “Why did you want me to talk to Rudy the other day? Why did you want me to make it sound like he had been sought out for some news story about grades?”

Mr. Cosmo was silent for a moment. She couldn’t look at him since she was driving, but she guessed he was leaning back in the chair, deep in thought. The van on the way to the school was not the perfect place to discuss this, but she knew if she didn’t say something now, it would eat away at her the whole time she waited for Mr. Cosmo to leave the school.

When Mr. Cosmo spoke, Ms. Saffron was not sure how to react.

“It was important to gauge the boy’s reaction.”

Ms. Saffron wanted to stare at him wide-eyed, yet her eyes remained glued on the road for obvious reasons. The boy’s reaction? What did that have to do with anything?

“Excuse me? Care to explain?”

“Certainly.” The man said, sounding not at all annoyed with her questioning. “In order for me to go forth with my plan, I needed to see how the boy reacted to negative stimuli. Specifically, an insult.”

“Is that why you wanted me to call him a delinquent?” Ms. Saffron said, a tone of disgust in her voice. She absolutely hated using that term on the boy. It was way too harsh. It didn’t at all fit what he was, or did it? She didn’t know much about the boy. Still, she hated what she said to him and this was one idea of Mr. Cosmo’s that she definitely did not agree with.

The man said in an almost nonchalant manner, “Well yes. You see, I need to know how...fragile his mind is.” He tapped his fingers together once, looking out the window and seeing some students walk to school in the rain. The building was straight up ahead. “The weaker the mind, the easier it is to...work with them so to speak.”

Ms. Saffron gave him a quick sideways glance. Her eyes widened. What was this man’s plan? Was he talking about what she thought?

“How...what are you...” She stammered, unable to come up with a coherant question.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled. “I had a feeling you would be confused. Don’t worry, all will be explained in due time.”

She slowed down as they were coming to the turn for the school. As she entered, her mind was invaded with new thoughts, most of them not so pretty. While she still trusted Mr. Cosmo, a part of her was questioning him even more. And to think that he wanted the boy’s feelings to be hurt, it was distasteful in her mind. She had never been angry at the man before. This was a first.

When they parked, she kept the doors locked. She was not done talking to him yet. And like he said, they still had time. She needed to understand what his motivations are. They weren’t what she had expected. And why did his plans involve that little boy? She understood questioning him about this chalk world, but for the love of Pete, why did it have to involve calling him a criminal and angering his loved ones?

“Before I let you out,” Ms. Saffron said softly. Any sign of respect she had for the man was temporarily lost in the anger that was starting to fill her mind. She fought to keep it under control. “Will you tell me how shattering that boy’s mind will benefit you?”

Mr. Cosmo took not of a few shakes of fury from the woman. Yet he did not react to her piercing glare. He had expected a reaction like this from her, and he was prepared with a reply almost immediately. “A weak mind is easier to mold, you see. Any information I want from the child, I can get knowing how his mind reacts to harsh comments. Understanding his reactions, how he deals with such comments, is key to knowing for certain that he’s hiding something, which then can be used against him should he try to resist.”

“I very much doubt he would tell you anything, even if you confronted him with any evidence.” Ms. Saffron said softly. She was starting to cool down a little, but she was still angry at Mr. Cosmo.

“True, quite true.” Mr. Cosmo nodded his head. “Which is why I don’t plan on confronting him...not yet.” He ran his hand along his umbrella, unfastening the belt that kept the umbrella flat. “Which is why, with some knowledge with how his mind works, based on the information you so helpfully gave me, I have other ways of getting what I want.”

Ms. Saffron didn’t stop glaring at him. “I don’t see how you can possibly think this convoluted plan of yours will work. It was still crazy before, but this...how are you certain you won’t fail?”

The ego radiating off of Mr. Cosmo as he simply smiled at her was astounding. If she had known Snap, she would have believed his ego rivaled the blue boy’s.

“You will just need to trust me on this, Ms. Saffron. I am fully confident that, when the time comes, Rudy will reveal what I want to know.” He glances over at her as the doors are finally unlocked. “But if you don’t believe me, time will reveal all. Yes, time will confirm whether or not my ideas are ‘too convoluted’ to work.”

Ms. Saffron sighed deeply, refusing to look at him. In a voice that sounded almost defeated, she said, “Just go. I’ll get started on that assignment you wanted.”

A grin plastered on the man’s face. “Great! And don’t worry. It’ll all work out in the long run.”

As she watched the man enter the school, Ms. Saffron shook her head slowly from side to side. “I sure hope you know what you’re talking about, sir...”

sss

Penny was worried. There were many things that concerned her right now. There was school. Always having to study to keep up her good grades and make her family happy. There was the upcoming test which she needed to study for. Outside of school, there was a family reunion planned in a few months. Although a way’s away in the future, and no matter how many times she went to one of these reunions, she was always nervous, afraid of saying the wrong thing and making a fool of herself. It was times like these she felt like Rudy did when he danced with that flower costume on.

She was also worried about the reporter coming to the school. She heard some students talking in the hallways, stating to see the guy at the school. If he was there already, she had to be on her guard. Every so often, she would look over her shoulder, expecting to be tailored by the reporter and a cameraman, like how Terry did with her. Even something as simple as turning a corner, she had to take extra precaution just in case she was being followed.

But above all, she was worried about Rudy.

He hadn’t spoken much after he told her about Mr. Cosmo’s visit at the school. His mind may have gone back to what Ms. Saffron said. She wanted to stay and comfort him, but her parents were expecting her. Reluctantly, she had to leave him. He seemed to understand, even smiling and waving goodbye to her. But that smile, she could tell it was fake.

She had tried to speak to him as they walked into the school together. He didn’t reply. She felt bad for him. She understood the sting of words and how much they can hurt. She had to deal with that herself, with people mocking her for wearing glasses. Seems archaic, but she would attest to any doubters that, yes, there still exists people who give others a hard time wearing glasses.

But her issues were small compared to Rudy’s, at least with her. All she wanted to do was find a way to make him happy again. But with him being silent, she didn’t know how she’d be able to accomplish that. Perhaps she would have better luck in class, before Mr. Wilter came in.

Penny took her seat behind Rudy. She hesitated, biting her lip. From behind here, it was hard to tell if he was still upset or not. At least to someone who didn’t know him well enough. Penny had been Rudy’s close friend for years. She could tell, by his body language, that he was troubled by something.

She reached over and touched his shoulder to get his attention. The boy turned to look at her. He put on a smile, which she could tell was just as fake as the one he gave her when she left.

“What is it, Penny?” He asked her.

“Rudy, I was just wondering...” She paused, trying to think of the words to say. “Are you sure you are okay? You still seem...upset.”

Rudy’s fake smile faded, reflecting his true mood. His eyes faced towards the ground. Knowing he couldn’t lie to her, he said, “Yeah, I guess you could say that. But now isn’t the time to talk about it, Penny.”

Penny understood. But she still wanted to make an attempt to comfort him. Seeing him so sad made her upset as well. “Ms. Saffron is wrong about you, Rudy. Please, don’t let her words get to you like this. I know you better than that. I...”

“I get it, Penny!” Rudy was a little snippier than he meant to be. He sighed and turned his head away. “I’m sorry, Penny. I didn’t mean to... Well...” His expression hardened a little. “I understand you want to cheer me up. I do appreciate your words, Penny. I do. But that woman...she...”

Sensing there was something Rudy wanted to confess to her, Penny leaned closer towards him. “Rudy?”

“She may have been right about me, Penny...she may have been right.” His answer came in a harsh whisper, a slight shiver to it.

Penny’s eys widened at this. “Rudy..how can you say that?”

Rudy looked at her. He said, “Penny...do you have any idea how many rules we broke g...” He stopped himself before he mentioned ChalkZone in class, worried someone will hear.

“That doesn’t make you a criminal, Rudy.” Penny tried to explain. “You had no choice. You didn’t cause harm to anyone.”

“Yeah...I know...”

Penny could tell he was still upset. She wanted to continue speaking with him, but she was interrupted as the door swung open. Everyone, including her and Rudy, snapped to attention, watching as Mr. Wilter walked in the front of the class, his arms tucked behind his back.

“Class, as I am sure you are aware, we have a special visitor today.” Mr. Wilter said.

Penny and Rudy winced, knowing who this ‘visitor’ was. Their eyes slowly turned towards the door. They could see a shadow falling upon it.

“He has come here because he has something important to tell you all.” Mr. Wilter continued. He took one step to the side and turned towards the door. “I am sure we will all learn something from his visit. Please welcome...”

The wait for the man to enter the room was agonizing for Rudy and Penny. The man slowly walked in, taking as much time as he could as if he wanted to prolong this moment. He stopped in the middle of the room. A smile came onto his face and he raised a hand to greet the classroom.

“Mr. Cosmo.”

“Hello, students.” Mr. Cosmo said politely. “There is something I would like to talk to you all about.”

Rudy tried not to cringe when Mr. Cosmo’s eyes met his.


	6. I Bring You A Proposition

Mr. Cosmo smiled as he noticed Rudy's reaction. Just like how he expected him to look. It was amazing how powerful a simple gaze could be. And just like he hoped, the girl, Penny he believed her name was, was looking just as shocked. He kept his gaze from her, instead focusing on Rudy. He studied the boy, reading his expression as he mentally thought about how he was going to handle him.

He dared not stare at the boy too long. A gaze held after a length of time would invoke suspicion from Mr. Wilter. In truth, he didn't consider Wilter a close friend. He had little understanding of what he was going to do, and the less he knew of his motives, the better. The other students might get suspicious as well. It would be hard to pull off anything if half the dang school distrusted him.

He had to play it safe and cool. In a swift motion, he turned his head away from the boy. He turned his gaze onto Mr. Wilter. The man had moved aside, sitting back down in his seat. Mr. Wilter looked up at him and motioned with his hand for him to start.

Mr. Cosmo had prepared for this moment. In his mind, he rehearsed it over and over again. Being here, it was different. Had it not been for his gigantic ego, he would have faltered and stumbled, which may or may not have exposed him. With a single clearing of the throat, he began to speak, his professional speech lessons paying off.

"Greetings, as you all may know, I am Mr. Cosmo of...well I don't really need to go into details. Most of you already know who I am. Now I am sure you are all wondering why a renowned reporter like myself is doing here."

Mr. Cosmo glanced at the classroom as whole. Everyone was looking at him with curiosity, well except Rudy and Penny who were clearly hiding any indication they were skeptical. He continued his speech that he replayed in his mind many times on the way to the school.

"My fellow co-reporter, Ms. Saffron, has scoped out some of the students in this region and spoken to them. It is with great concern that I tell you all that she has noticed an alarming rate of students dropping their performance. Only a small portion of the students she found have been doing well in school. This is worrying considering not too long ago, this area had high education standards."

The reactions were just what the reporter had expected. Most of the students didn't seem to care. How could they? They were still a little too young to understand. A few of them did, he was sure. He wasn't dumb enough to believe no student was uncaring. But he was smart enough to know that students, as a whole, wouldn't be too concerned at this age.

Mr. Wilter looked visibly upset. He had never had the guy frown at him like that before. He didn't blame him. After all, he was a teacher here and with his own words, he had pretty much insulted the guy. A negative trend of education for the young ones can and is often traced back to not just the students' willingness to listen but also the competence of the teacher. And since Mr. Wilter prided himself with being a top of the line educator, his words didn't exactly glow in favor for him.

And out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rudy and Penny looking confused. Had they expected him to talk about something else? He was certain of that. On the inside, he smiled. He still had the upper hand here, and as long as he can keep them in the dark about what he really wanted, his plan could commence. The two teens would be none the wiser until he was ready for them to know.

And by then, it would be too late.

"But I have a solution. Now I know what you're all might be thinking. I am just a reporter, not someone who teaches. I don't have the level of experience and I couldn't possibly compete with someone like Mr. Wilter." He gestured to the man behind him. Mr. Wilter smiled a little, happy that his expertise was acknowledged. "Ms. Saffron and I have discussed a different way of teaching. Of course this would only be, for the time being, those who are struggling the most. Those who need the most help."

"And just what is this method you speak of?" Mr. Wilter asked.

"I can't tell you a whole lot." Mr. Cosmo replied. "I do not wish to give you false information. I could tell you what we had in mind, but if you were to attempt it and get negative results, you can't exactly blame us for it." He turned his gaze onto the class. "Instead, before I can inform you, Ms. Saffron and I will need one student to try our methods on. Depending on how well that student performs, we will tell you. We are certain you would benefit greatly from this information."

Mr. Wilter nodded in agreement, his fingers interlocking as his hands rested on the table. "I greatly appreciate what you are trying to do for this school, Mr. Cosmo. Did you have any idea of which student you would like to use this method on?"

Mr. Cosmo glanced to the classroom. "Well I was thinking of one of your students. If you don't mind, of course."

"Certainly not!" Mr. Wilter smiled. "I mean, of course I don't mind. I actually have someone in mind for you. He's out sick today, but there's Reggie Bullnerd. The worst student in my class. He would definitely benefit if your ideas work."

"Hmm...is there someone else?" Mr. Cosmo asked.

"Any other students of mine who don't perform well? Yes, but why?" Mr. Wilter asked. "I just gave you a suggestion. I think Reggie Bullnerd is..."

"Yes, yes, I know, but..." Mr. Cosmo gave Rudy a sideways glance. A small smile crept onto the reporter's face. "Are you sure there's no one more...deserving...?"

At this, Rudy lowered his head a little, while Penny looked at him sympathetically. Mr. Cosmo smiled at him for another second before turning his head to Mr. Wilter. He wondered if he had picked up the clue he was giving him. He still had to be as subtle as possible, so he couldn't just outright say Rudy. A few clues with body language and the right words should do it.

Mr. Wilter didn't seem to understand where he was getting at. He started at the reporter, confused. He then glanced down at his papers, probably looking at the grades of his students, to recheck to see if Reggie really was the worst student. He didn't come across any such student as he soon put the papers down and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about." Mr. Wilter said. "If there's one student here who is deserving, it's Reggie Bullnerd. You would get more potential out of him. There's a few other students of mine who do poorly, but none of them are that horrible." He spoke softly under his breath. "Even if they do draw useless cartoons..."

"What was that?" Mr. Cosmo asked, cupping a hand around his ear. "I didn't quite hear you."

Mr. Wilter blinked at him, as if wondering how he heard. Then he narrowed his eyes slightly. "That isn't any of your business, Mr. Cosmo. Now would you be so kind as to tell me what you are getting at?"

Mr. Cosmo's eyes narrowed just a tad bit. Okay, so maybe things weren't going entirely as planned. Perhaps Mr. Wilter was a little more clever than he imagined. For the plan to commence, he would need to be a little more forceful now. A little more...manipulative.

"I know it's quite easy to think this Reggie student would be the best choice for this test. And perhaps you are right. If he has the worst grades, then why not use him?" Mr. Cosmo said, his eyes upward cast and his hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But then..." The tone of his voice changed, becoming a tad darker and more serious. "...do you think we'd be able to come out here tomorrow? What if the next time we come, Reggie isn't here? We can't exactly show up to his house either. I doubt his parents would approve of a total stranger coming to his house. The testing must be done here."

"And you will be able to do that when..." Mr. Wilter began.

Mr. Cosmo cut him off. "With all due respect, sir, does Reggie show up at school on a regular basis? Or does he skip out a lot?"

"Well I..."

"He sounds like the kind of student to do that. Maybe not all the time as he is not suspended I see." Mr. Cosmo said. He began to pace in front of the classroom. The students watched him, mostly in curiosity, while Rudy and Penny were tense. "That is why I need someone who doesn't skip out. Someone who doesn't have a potential attitude problem. Someone who understands how to do the work and just needs some extra help. A push in the right direction, if you will."

Mr. Cosmo looked at the teacher and waited for a reply. He had been struggling not to point his finger at Rudy. He hoped that, now, the man would have an idea of who he wanted. He watched as the teacher scanned his entire classroom. His expression never changed, no matter whom he looked at.

Frowning, the reporter moved back towards the teacher. He didn't foresee Mr. Wilter being this stupid. And he was supposed to be a teacher? He wouldn't understand subtlety if it came and bit him on the nose. He wondered if, even if he pointed at Rudy, that Mr. Wilter would still be clueless. Yet he still had to do this. He couldn't just take any student, no matter how bad they are, and drag them off somewhere. No, he needed permission to keep the others off of him.

In a friendly gesture, he put his arm around Mr. Wilter's shoulders. Holding out his other hand at the side, he began to make conversation with Mr. Wilter, as if making a proposition. "Would you mind if we talk out in the hallway? Where there are less distractions and more capacity to think?"

Mr. Wilter hesitated for a moment. Then he gave a nod. "Sure, I don't see why not." As he headed towards the door with Mr. Cosmo, he turned to the class and waggled a finger at them. "Now I don't want to hear a word out of any of you while I'm talking with Mr. Cosmo. If I hear just one word, you all get detention! Do you understand me?"

The classroom nodded solemnly, all of them not too keen on the idea of serving detention. Mr. Wilter might have been bluffing. He sometimes did that when he wanted to get a point across. But why take the chance?

As the teacher and reporter walked out of the room, Rudy and Penny were finally able to voice their concerns to each other, albeit in low voices so no one could hear them.

"I don't like this, Rudy." Penny said softly. "What could he be up to?"

Rudy turned his head so he could speak with Penny more easily. His expression showed not only worry like Penny's, but also a tad bit of fear. "I don't know...I don't like the way he was looking at me. It's like he knows something about me..."

Penny nodded her head. "I...I think he might know our secret, Rudy... He seems to be targeting you specifically. Out of everyone in the class...it has only been you he looked at with those eyes." She shuddered a little, clearly not wanting to think about it.

Rudy bit his lip as he turned to look at the door. It had been shut, but he could see the shadows out of the door window quite clearly. He watched as Mr. Wilter and Mr. Cosmo were chatting about something. There was little movement. Maybe a sway of the hand once or twice. But, with the angle they stood at, it was almost like they weren't talking at all.

While he could not read lips anyway, seeing the lips move in this case may have been a benefit to him. He could easily pick out when they said something similar to his own name, and he would know they were talking about him. Even though he was nervous at the idea of this man seeking him out, not knowing what he was talking about was even more nerve wracking.

If the man really did want him, his mind flooded with thoughts of what he would do. If this man knew about ChalkZone, what were his plans? Exposing ChalkZone was very much a possibility. That's what both Vinnie and Terry wanted to do when they found out about that world's existence.

Yet he knew that just because of what Vinnie and Terry did doesn't mean that is what Mr. Cosmo had planned. Rudy was more scared by not knowing, than knowing. After all, there was the belief that things that are unseen are more frightening. And he would completely agree. He had no idea what this guy was going to do. For all he knew, Mr. Cosmo was going to torture him for information and then destroy ChalkZone.

He wiped that thought out of his head. No, he couldn't get carried away in his imagination like that. Like with past threats, he needed to scope out Mr. Cosmo and understand what he is planning. He saved ChalkZone many times in the past, against many threats, both of the real world and chalk world. Mr. Cosmo wouldn't be any different than any of them. He had to believe that.

As protector of ChalkZone, he had to believe in himself.

"When we get the chance, we should warn the others in ChalkZone about this." Penny said, snapping Rudy out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, you're right, Penny." Rudy replied. "They need to know about this. If this guy is really after ChalkZone, then..."

His thoughts were cut off once again. But this time, it wasn't be cause of Penny. It was because the door had swung open, a tad too hard because it hit against the classroom wall with a tiny bit of force. The students returned their gaze in the front as the reporter and teacher came walking back in the classroom.

Rudy and Penny watched as, instead of returning to his seat, Mr. Wilter stood next to Mr. Cosmo in the front of the classroom. Mr. Wilter's hands were folded behind his back while Mr. Cosmo looked along the classroom before he began to speak.

"Mr. Wilter and I had come to the conclusion of who should be a part of this program. The person I am about to pick will have the honor of being the first to try this brand new method of tutoring. This person should be pleased that he or she will be helping students everywhere who are struggling. Do not be disappointed if I don't choose you; your time may come eventually."

Rudy could feel his heart starting to race in anxiety. He tried his best not to show his nervousness. A part of him wished that Mr. Cosmo would hurry up and announce who he picked. The other just wanted him to leave.

There was still that chance it wasn't him Mr. Cosmo wanted. That him staring at the boy was just a coincidence, or done to mess with him. There was the chance that he was getting worked up over nothing and Mr. Cosmo would leave him alone.

But then, given all he had to deal with regarding those who sought to do him or ChalkZone harm, since when did he have that kind of luck?

Mr. Wilter, who seemed to almost read his mind, said, "The student we feel would be the best candidate for Mr. Cosmo's testing is..." He looked over at Rudy and said, "Rudy Tabootie."

Hearing his name, Rudy slumped lower in his chair, his eyes widening. Penny looked at him, feeling sorry for him. Rudy looked like he wanted to disappear, to be anywhere but hear. The other students smirked at him, obviously relieved they weren't the ones chosen for this.

Rudy felt cornered. He was mentally backed up against a wall as Mr. Cosmo walked up to him. With each time the man took to get closer, the more visibly shaken Rudy started to look. Despite telling himself to be calm, telling himself that Mr. Cosmo would get more suspicious of him if he kept this up, Rudy couldn't help but give off a slight tremble.

Mr. Cosmo took notice. "Are you cold, boy?"

"Y-Yeah. I am a little cold." Rudy said, an idea formulating in his head. "I might have a fever. Mr. Wilter, I'm going to the nurse and..."

Before he could get up, Mr. Wilter slammed a fist against his desk. "You will do no such thing, Tabootie! I know you are not sick, so don't try to fake your away out of this!" Rudy lowered his head. "Good. Now go with Mr. Cosmo. He will take you to another room for the testing."

Following Mr. Cosmo's gesture, Rudy got out of his seat. He looked over at Penny. She didn't say anything, but judging by her look, she was worried about him. Rudy wanted to say something to her, but he was ushered away when Mr. Cosmo put a hand on his back.

"Don't worry, kid. This won't be too hard for you. If you are worried you will do poorly, push those thoughts out of your head." Mr. Cosmo said as he took Rudy out of the room with him. "Even someone of your level of...missing the point...would be able to get it." At this, Rudy glared at him, but the man ignored him as they continued down the school halls.

Penny stared at the now shut door. Slowly, she turned her eyes towards her desk. She didn't react as Mr. Wilter attempted to start class. She still brought out her book, but it was almost in an automatic fashion. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"Rudy...I hope you'll be okay."


	7. To Fool The Unfooled

The walk down the hallway didn't really take that long. The school wasn't that large. But walking so close to someone who might be onto him, Rudy felt like it took much longer than that. Each step seemed to take several minutes to complete. His body was tense. He dared not look at Mr. Cosmo, as if such an act would invoke him to do something terrible.

Rudy knew such a belief is silly. He was still in a public location. There were cameras in the hallways. Mr. Cosmo can't attempt anything without alerting the principal. Still, he couldn't push his fears too far back. It was true that this man could be no different than the other two, but he knew how to deal with them. Mr. Cosmo was still a mystery to him, and he still didn't know for certain if he knew about ChalkZone or not.

It didn't make him feel any better knowing he was going to be placed in a room by himself with the guy. Maybe he took out all the cameras in that room so he could interrogate him without worry. No, he couldn't do that either. Again, that would draw suspicion from the school. If the camera in one classroom did not work, the repairmen would come over and fix it. He himself had issues with the cameras in the past. When they were first installed, he and Penny knew getting to ChalkZone during school hours would be much harder, and they almost got caught once. They decided to only go to ChalkZone after school and during days off, unless it was an emergency.

Rudy kept telling himself to be calm. He couldn't let his paranoia surface. He did his best to keep a straight face and loosen up a little. He wanted Mr. Cosmo to believe there was nothing wrong with him, nothing going on at all.

And who knows? Maybe the man was telling the truth about wanting to help educate students. Maybe he really was getting worked up over nothing. Mr. Cosmo might not be as bad as he think he is. He should at least give him the benefit of the doubt first. He may have just been misinterpreting his actions.

"I see you are looking at more at ease." Mr. Cosmo stated, breaking the silence.

Rudy stammered, "Y-Yes sir."

"That's good." Mr. Cosmo smiled. "Relaxation is key to better grades. If you fret too much, you mess up more easily, aren't I right?"

Rudy nodded his head, thinking back to his C+ experiment. "Yeah, I'll say..." He hesitated, then looked up at the man. "Just what are we going to do?"

Mr. Cosmo's smile widened. "You will see. Trust me, it won't be anything you can't handle. And after all is said and done, you might have learned a thing or two..."

They finally came upon the room. There was no number. Rudy thought this was strange, but he had no time to reflect as the man pushed him gently into the room. Mr. Cosmo switched on a light.

The room was about half the size of Mr. Wilter's classroom. There were three rows of desks, three desks in each row. A green chalkboard was at the front, a tad wider than what Mr. Wilter had. A couple pieces of white chalk were there next to a back of White Lightning. The room was pretty plain looking. No posters on the walls or any diagrams or anything like that. There was a book case off to the side filled with a few books, but they looked dusty as if they hadn't been read in years.

Rudy looked around the room. He then turned to Mr. Cosmo. "Why this room? It looks old and unused."

"Well that's why, kid." Mr. Cosmo stated as he walked further into the room. He cocked his head down, staring at Rudy. "It was the only room available that I could use. Dirty, but hey it will do. Now..." He turned his eyes towards the book shelf. "...where shall we begin?"

Rudy moved over the front middle row and sat down in the desk. He rested his arms on the desk as he watched the man look over the text books. This seemed strange. Those books are likely very out of date. He was certain that all the teachers got newer editions. But then again, it wasn't like Mr. Cosmo was a teacher, so it would make sense he'd get stuck with the older editions. And did it really matter? Some of the information was still more or less accurate.

Despite wanting to give the guy a chance, there was just something about him that threw him off. Something about the way he moved, the way he looked at him, the way he talked. He didn't know if he was deliberately trying to throw him off, if he was just that bad at hiding his true intentions, or if he was just kinda creepy in general. Rudy was still on guard, just in case he tried something.

He couldn't take chances. He'd still wait to make sure the guy was a threat before he did anything. But he wasn't going to be fooled by this guy. He had encountered enough threats to know how to remain inconspicuous while at the same time keeping an eye on potential enemies. Should Mr. Cosmo prove himself to be untrustworthy, then Rudy would spring into action.

He watched as the man fumbled through the books, grunting in frustration as he tried to find some particular one. Mr. Cosmo took a step back, scratching his head. Rudy stared at him, a tad confused. Did this guy really come unprepared? It was the first day, sure, but come on. He would think that Mr. Cosmo would be more prepared than this.

The frustration from the reporter didn't last long. He lowered himself to the ground. Rudy straightened himself up to see, but he wasn't able to notice what the man was picking up from the ground until he held it up. It looked like some large text book. The coloring was a dark purple and the letters appeared to be white. Rudy squinted, but he couldn't read what was written on it, not from where he was sitting.

"Yes...yes...this book should do..." Mr. Cosmo said softly. He held the book in the crook of his arm as he walked in Rudy's direction.

Rudy attempted to read the title of the book again and this time he succeeded. It said Chemistry Made Easy. He tried to hold back a scowl. Had Mr. Wilter really gone far enough to tell Mr. Cosmo about his recent failure?

Mr. Cosmo dropped the book onto the desk. The weight sent vibrations through the chair for a brief second. It was heavier than Rudy had imagined it was. It was larger than any of his other text books. This book had to be filled with just about everything he needed to know about chemistry if that were the case, including some more obscure scenarios.

"I want you to study this book." Mr. Cosmo said as he placed his hands on top of the desk and leaned forward slightly. Rudy moved back against his seat, somewhat intimidated by the man being this close to him. "Read chapters 1 and 2 and make sure you answer all the questions."

Rudy blinked a few times. "Wait...this is it? This is your teaching method? How is..."

Mr. Cosmo snapped him a glare. Rudy closed his mouth. "I will be getting to that soon, kid. Be patient. This is just a warm up." He flipped the book open and went to the first page of chapter 1. "Now...read this. I need to go run a few errands. I already informed your teacher and principal about this and they are fine with it so long as I return shortly to keep an eye on you."

"So...all you want me to do is..." Rudy flipped through the book, still somewhat in shock. "...read?"

Mr. Cosmo nodded. "At least until I get back. My teaching method requires the use of a special instrument, which I had forgotten to bring with. I forgot to inform my assistant I was going to need it." He turned his back and started to walk towards the door. "Don't worry; I won't be gone too long. Just relax and do what you can. There is no rush."

The door shut, leaving Rudy alone in the room.

Rudy was so confused by what was going on. This was not what he had expected when he came in here. This had to be some kind of trick. He was sure of it now. Nothing about this made any sense. No teacher that he knew of here would put a student in a room all by themselves, toss them a large book to read, and then leave immediately. Something about this didn't feel right.

He wasn't surprised his teacher and principal were fooled. Neither of them were bright at times. He didn't want to sound mean; that wasn't his intention. But with all the stress they had to deal with, it wouldn't surprise him if something, one thing, slipped through. Mr. Cosmo was probably a master of manipulation, a skill that he was certain wouldn't work on him. After all, Rudy was onto him.

If Mr. Cosmo was hoping to fool him, trick him into letting his guard down, he was sadly mistaken. Rudy would be prepared for when he got back. Whatever the man was getting to use against him, Rudy would be sure to be ready.

He wanted to get out and warn Penny about what was going on. But he couldn't leave. He might run into Mr. Cosmo or a teacher in the hallway. He wasn't sure how much trouble he would be in if someone found him outside of the classroom before his time with Mr. Cosmo was done. He cursed himself for not bringing his cellphone with him. He could have texted Penny and...wait, what if he got in trouble? Texting was not allowed in schools and the cameras would catch him...

...and that's when he realized this room had no cameras. He looked around. None where in sight. Was this room so old and useless that the principal decided not to install security in it? Seems so. Rudy let out a sigh of relief. It was nice to know that he wasn't being watched. That weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Rudy went up to the door and peered outside. He looked left to right to see if Mr. Cosmo had returned. He reached down for the door handle. He grabbed and twisted it...only to realize it had been locked.

Rudy's eyes snapped wide when he realized he was trapped in this room. His mind racing, he grabbed the handle and twisted it hard. He tried to muster up as much strength as he could. His hands, slick with sweat, slipped off and he fell to the ground. He got up, rubbing his head. He stared at the door.

He had been right about this guy. He would believe a teacher would randomly give a lone student a book and tell them to study. Even that was more believable than this. No teacher would ever lock a student in the class room. That was forbidden. He didn't know all the school rules and even he knew that this was not something the principal would allow.

Rudy now understood what Mr. Cosmo was up to. He had planned on bringing over some of his lackeys and perhaps something like a lie detector to make Rudy tell him about ChalkZone. That had to be it. And with him trapped in this room, he had nowhere to go...

...except into ChalkZone. Rudy looked over at the board. Mr. Cosmo likely didn't know how ChalkZone worked. Terry did not, at least not until Rudy accidentally showed her. If the man knew, he wouldn't have left White Lightning, or any chalk, available for him to use.

He knew what he had to do. He got up out of his seat, and walked over to the chalkboard.

sss

How stupid was this child? Really, how dumb could he really be? These questions entered Mr. Cosmo's mind as he leaned back in his chair. He stared out ahead. He could see Rudy getting up out of his seat and heading towards the chalkboard.

Mr. Cosmo knew his plan was going to work anyway, but he had no idea it would have so little resistance, so few complications. It was clear the boy did not realize he could see him. The boy had no idea he was using a one way mirror, one of the oldest tricks in the book, to watch him. He would have thought the boy would catch onto this, but then, he was glad he did not.

He didn't want to further complicate his plans. Tricking Rudy this easily would surely move things along more. Rudy didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. The boy didn't realize he was falling right into Mr. Cosmo's trap. A smile spread across the reporter's face.

His eyes almost twinkled when he saw Rudy pick up a piece of chalk from the White Lightning box. The boy pressed it against the chalkboard and drew a circle. A dazzling light shined as what was clearly a portal into another realm was opened.

The man did not react too strongly. A smirk and a chuckle, and that was it. He would expect most humans to freak out the sight of something so otherworldly, so...magical for the lack of a better word. But not him. He kept himself relaxed and rational. As he saw the boy enter what he knew as a chalky world, the thoughts running through his mind revolved around how to proceed with his plan.

He didn't bother recording. No one would really believe him. He knew that. People would just dismiss it as Hollywood filmmaking. And Rudy could use it against him, claiming he made Rudy perform stunts for the movie. Mr. Cosmo would not grant the boy the opportunity to do that.

The boy had taken the bait. And even if Rudy figured out going to the chalk world was exactly what he wanted him to do, it still wouldn't be enough. The boy could never figure out what his actual plan was. And if he did, well, all the more reason to...

"Mr. Cosmo, sir." A voice said behind him.

"What is it, Ms. Saffron?" He responded, not bothering to look at her.

"I've done what you've asked me to." Ms. Saffron said.

Giving her a sideways glance, Mr. Cosmo replied, "Excellent. And the..."

"Fully described and made plainly clear." The woman reporter said. She paused. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Affirmative." Mr. Cosmo said, the smile never leaving his face. He looked back at the now empty classroom. He could still see the portal there, a light shining from it. "Rudy Tabootie has done what I expected of him. The first phase of our plan is almost complete."

"How long will that take?" Ms. Saffron asked.

Mr. Cosmo turned to her. "It all depends on how well you pulled off your end of the deal." His voice was stern and hard. "This will fail if you didn't..."

"Don't worry, I did." Ms. Saffron said. "And I followed your guidelines, too."

Mr. Cosmo smirked. "Good...good. Excellent." He looked back at the classroom. "Now..all we have to do is wait."


	8. A Familiar Threat

Rudy felt relief wash over him as he stepped into ChalkZone. The beautiful, though chalky, scenery was a welcome sight from the prison of a classroom he had been stuck in. He felt safe in ChalkZone. He always felt safer in a world where he could draw things in midair. If Mr. Cosmo ventured in here after him, he would be in for a nasty surprise.

Rudy never exploited his powers that much. He, even years later, only used them to do good things. Defending ChalkZone is certainly one. In the real world, he couldn't really do much to defend himself from Cosmo shoud the man decide to restrain him. But in ChalkZone, just a few scribbles and Rudy could fling him back into the real world.

He would stay in ChalkZone for a while, but that would not do him any good. It wasn't just the citizens of ChalkZone that would have an issue if they were suddenly in the opposite world. Rudy himself was not exempt from the rules. He would not be able to eat or drink anything in ChalkZone, really. It would dissolve before his body could digest it, and even if he could eat or drink, there was no way chalk had any nutrients that would help him.

Rudy took a step forward, putting his hand over his eyes and looked around. His first instinct was to locate Snap and tell him what was going on. Snap was often the first zoner he told revelations to. Very rarely did he break this trend.

He didn't see Snap, so he guessed he was probably at his house. He decided to walk there. It wasn't too far from here. He took another step forward before stopping himself, eyes widened in realization.

The portal...he forgot to erase the portal.

Rudy turned around and ran back to the portal. Mr. Cosmo said he'd be gone a while, but who knew if he was telling the truth? Rudy couldn't take chances. He reached his hand through the portal and felt around for the eraser. He couldn't hold back his gasp of shock when he found there was none. But how? He was certain he saw an eraser before. Where could it have gone?

He stuck his head back into the classroom and looked around for the eraser. His eyes trailed the room and finally he spotted an eraser. It was on the ground, resting up against the wall. Rudy reached down for it. His fingertips barely grazed along the top of the eraser. All he managed to do was knock it over onto its side.

"Come on...come on..." Rudy said as he pushed himself further through the portal to grab the eraser. He almost got it when he heard a call behind him.

"Rudy! Bucko!"

In surprise, Rudy moved his head up sharply at the sound of Snap's voice. His head hit the top of the portal. He let out a cry of pain and began to rub the back of his head and neck. Portals might be interdimensional gates between worlds, but they, at least on the earth side, were quite solid around the edges. Chalkboards aren't that soft.

Rudy turned around and saw Snap running at him. He couldn't help but be a little perplexed. Snap wasn't that close to him, in fact he was still a good distance away. Yet he sounded like he was right behind him. That...was never a good sign. Rudy wondered what could have alarmed Snap so much. It couldn't be Mr. Cosmo...could it?

The blue superhero kept calling Rudy's name as he ran over the grassy and chalky ground. When he got up to Rudy, he had to take a moment and catch a breather. He hunched over, his hands on his knees, and panted heavily.

"Snap?" Rudy looked at him, eyes wide and showing great concern. "What's wrong?"

When Snap got his breath, he started jumping up and down anxiously, waving his arms in the air and pointing off to the west. "It's Skrawl! He found this...big...destroying stuff! Skrawl trying to...control it! You gotta hurry, Bucko!"

Unfortunately for Rudy, Snap talked so fast he could barely understand him. The words slurred over each other, and there was barely a pause between words.

"Whoa whoa!" Rudy motioned with his hands in front of him. "Slow down! Now what's going on? You say it has to do with Skrawl?"

Snap nodded his head rapidly. When he spoke, his words slowed down somewhat, but he still spoke a little fast. "Yes! I was just wondering around, minding my own business, when something large, brown and furry, nearly ran me over! So I hid in the bushes, you see, and I saw Skrawl chasing after the thing, saying how he was going to harness the beast's power!"

Rudy snapped his head back. "What?!"

"Yeah! And that's not all!" Snap jumped up and down. "Skrawl's chase of the beast has caused it to stampede into town! A few buildings are a little knocked up and in one there's a huge whole in the wall!" Snap waved his hands wildly to emphasis that last statement. "Then the beast, when trying to escape Skrawl, just trampled over some other zoners, including Rapsheeba!"

"Is everyone okay?" Rudy asked worriedly.

Snap said, "Yeah, for the most part. Bruised, but okay." He latched onto Rudy, who was now much taller than himself, and gripped onto his shirt. Rudy had to bend himself backwards as Snap put his face close to his. "You gotta do something, Rudy! If Skrawl gets a hold of that thing...with that kind of power..." Snap began flailing his arms. "Rudy you gotta draw something!"

Rudy picked up Snap and put him down. "Okay! Where is this beast now? Do you know?"

"Yes! Follow me!" Snap said, grabbing Rudy by the arm and dragging him away.

Rudy followed closely behind Snap. He completely forgot about erasing the portal. He forgot about warning Snap about Mr. Cosmo. Right now, there was only one thing on his mind, and that was preventing Skrawl from attempting another scheme to take over ChalkZone.

What was with that guy, anyway? For five years, he has been trying to take over ChalkZone. He hardly ever tries anything different. It was either take over ChalkZone, or find ways to eliminate him and his friends. It was like the guy had nothing better to do.

He did used to fear Skrawl, at first, in the beginning. The jellybean, or potato, or whatever he was, did manage to trick him and many others into a museum and nearly dropped them into the Waitin' Sea, and they only won by pure luck and chance. But the more he faced Skrawl, the more predictable he became. He still took him seriously, no doubt about that. But his overall fear of the stubborn and repetitive zoner weakened over the years.

Well, Skrawl certainly was dedicated. Rudy had to give him that. To persistantly go after the same goals for years, that took dedication. He certainly couldn't say Skrawl wasn't focused. But it was still getting tiring having to clean up his mess all the time. It got to the point where he thought of a permanent solution.

He shook his head to get rid of that thought. No, he supposed to be a savior of this zone, not some kind of merciless bringer of justice. He couldn't do that. Such a thing was forbidden. If he did it, the citizens of ChalkZone would probably hate him, even if Skrawl deserved it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Snap suddenly grabbing onto his arm. Rudy, upon hearing Snap's cry to get his attention, looked over at where his blue friend was pointing.

Up ahead, he could see Skrawl. Oddly, he wasn't accompanied by his Beanie Boys this time. That came off as suspicious to Rudy. Skrawl rarely went anywhere without his henchmen. He wouldn't leave them behind on the pretense of them being stupid, because they weren't. As goofie as the Beanie Boys looked, they weren't incompetent and were good at their job. So what would be the reason to leave them behind this time?

He ignored that little detail to focus on what the jellybean was doing now. He was running around in a circle in a somewhat open field with very few bushes around it. Rudy looked to see what he was chasing.

It appeared to be some kind of bat at first. The huge wings flapped up and down, yet the creature did not take off. Rudy wondered if it had been injured or just wasn't meant to fly. When the beast turned around to bite at Skrawl, Rudy took quick notice of the face. Wolf-like in appearance. A bat/wolf hybrid? That wasn't what he was expecting.

He knew he had to protect this creature. He couldn't blame it for its earlier rampage. It was just scared and frightened. He needed to get it away from Skrawl. Rudy stood up straight and held out a piece of chalk. The light shining from its tip confirmed it was magical.

"Hey, back off Skrawl!" Rudy called out.

This caught Skrawl's attention. He lashed out and grabbed the beast by its tail. As it whined and struggled, Skrawl looked over in Rudy's direction and a wide sneer spread across his face.

"Well well well, if it isn't Rudy Tabootie and his comical sidekick, Snap!" Skrawl said nonchalantly. "What brings you two out here?"

Snap fumed. "Comical sidekick? I'll give you a comical sidekick, you hideous, growling jellybean!" Rudy grabbed onto Snap's cape to keep him from running towards Skrawl.

Skrawl glowered at the insult, but unlike the first time Snap called him that, he remained calm and didn't lose his temper. Instead, he pulled the hybrid creature closer to him and said, "While I would love to stay and chitchat, but I have more important things to do, chalk boy! So why don't you make like a little mouse and run through your maze that way!" He pointed in the direction behind Rudy.

Rudy pointed the chalk in Skrawl's direction threateningly. "Not until you release that zoner!"

Skrawl chortled at this. "Do you really think I am going to let my ticket to ruling ChalkZone go just because you asked me to, Master Tabootie? But if you really want it so badly..." With a display of strength, Skrawl lifted up the now enraged creature off the ground. "Catch!" He tossed the beast in Rudy's direction.

The creature's jaws split open wide and it let out a horrible high pitched sound as it focused its attention on attacking the nearest thing, in this case, Rudy. It landed on the ground and snapped its jaws wildly. It missed as Rudy and Snap jumped out of the way.

"Let's see you get out of this!" Skrawl gleefully said, rubbing his hands together and watching the fight begin.

The beast stalked in Rudy's direction. Its ears flatted against its skull. Its fangs were bared as it kicked the ground with its sharp talons.

Rudy pleaded with it, "I am here to help you. Please calm down. I know you're scared, but I promise I won't hurt you." These words fell on deaf ears as the beast leapt for Rudy.

Snap cried in horror. "Rudy! Draw something!"

Rudy had very little time to think of what to draw, let alone what to draw. And he knew that. As the beast closed the space between the two quickly, Rudy had no other choice but to jump out of the way. The beast landed on the space where Rudy once was, gnashing its jaws into the chalky ground. Rudy realized, in horror, that could have been him a second ago.

Snap jumped back as the beast now stood between him and Rudy. It, being closer to him than Rudy, decided to turn its attention on the little blue boy. It dove in his direction, jaws split wide open. Reacting quickly, Snap jumped into the air, the beast sailing just underneath him. They were so close, Snap could feel the fur bristle against his feet.

Gravity soon took control of the situation and he fell back down. Snap landed on the creature's back. He slung his arms around the beast's neck and hung on tightly. The beast began to buck wildly, but he refused to let go. He moved himself up so he could now hold onto the jaws. He held them tightly shut while his legs pressed against the wings, making it hard for the beast to take off into flight, if it had that capability.

"Now, Rudy!" Snap cried as he held on as tightly as he could. "I don't know how long I can hang on!"

Rudy's mind raced as he tried to think of something to do. He had to think fast. The beast was temporarily restrained by Snap, but he needed a longer lasting solution. If he didn't hurry, the beast could hurt Snap. At first, his mind was mostly blank; he was so pumped up with adrenaline that he couldn't think of exactly what he needed to draw. He just kept staring at Snap and the beast.

"Rudy!" Another cry of Snap prompted Rudy out of his thoughts.

"I'm coming, Snap!"

Rudy rushed over, pulling out his magic chalk. Without thinking, without knowing what he was going to do, he began to draw. He looped the chalk around the beast's snout, creating thin rope. He did this four times before then looping it two times around the neck, creating a sort of muzzle. He grabbed the two ends and started to pull.

Snap released his grip and jumped off the beast. He backed away, keeping a good distance between him and the bat/wolf hybrid. His eyes grew wide as the beast yanked and pulled hard, nearly knocking Rudy onto his knees. Snap rushed over and grabbed the ropes and assisted Rudy. The beast began to flap its wings a few times. The gust of air pushed against the two, but they continued to work together pulling the beast, trying to restrain it.

Rudy held on tightly, struggling to keep himself from losing his grip. The beast was being pulled forward. It pressed its feet into the ground, trying to maintain its position. A few whines and growls escaped its mouth. Rudy didn't want to do this, but there was no other option. The beast was going to attack him if he didn't do something to restrain him. If he could make the beast lay down, maybe he could then try something to calm it down.

The beast, however, was having none of this. With a sudden burst of strength, it yanked its head upwards. Rudy and Snap were thrown into the air. The beast snapped the rope from its jaws and let out a roar, spreading its wings wide.

As it did this, Rudy and Snap, after being in the air for a few seconds, had slammed against Skrawl. The trio rolled on the ground for a couple seconds. When they stopped, Rudy was laying on his back next to Skrawl, who had Snap laying across his head, blocking his view.

When Skrawl came to his senses, he let out a hiss, "Get off of me!" He grabbed Snap by the leg and threw him to the side. He then turned his attention onto Rudy. "And as for you..."

Rudy got up and got his magic chalk. He and Skrawl glared at each other, prepared for a fight. For a split second, they both forgot about the rampaging beast, instead their minds focused on each other.

They were soon reminded of the beast when they heard pounding feet to their side and the sound of Snap's cry.

"Look out!"

Rudy and Skrawl looked over and saw the beast rushing towards them. Its head was low, mouth open with teeth bared. Snap was on the beast again, trying to hold it back. This time, the beast was flipping its head so much Snap could not get a grip.

Realizing what was going to happen if they didn't get out of there, Skrawl and Rudy ran away. Thinking fast, Rudy drew a hoverboard. He jumped on it and he rose a couple feet off the ground. Rudy thought he was going to get an advantage, but then Skrawl grabbed onto the end of the hoverboard. His weight pulled down the hoverboard, making it harder for Rudy to rise higher.

He glared down at Skrawl. "Let go!"

"No way, chalk boy!" Skrawl declared. "I don't know about you, but I am not about to be trampled by that thing!"

"Why not?" Rudy said, raising an eyebrow. "You were fine with it trampling other zoners."

Skrawl growled, "Because the future ruler of ChalkZone can't afford broken limbs and a bruised body!"

Rudy couldn't believe this. Even in the midst of danger, all Skrawl could think of was becoming ChalkZone's ruler. He wanted to pry the evil jellybean off his hoverboard, but he stopped himself. Such an act would be something he'd expect Skrawl to do. He couldn't sink that low. Instead, he focused on keeping away from the beast long enough to try to figure out a plan.

Then he got an idea. It was tricky, but if executed right, it just might work. Looking to the side, he saw a patch of trees. They weren't too big, but they would do. He veered off in that direction. Just as he hoped, the bat/wolf creature came over towards him. Snap was still hanging on tightly, pulling on the beast's ears to try to put it at a disadvantage.

Rudy dove towards the trees as fast as he could. He narrowed his eyes, licking his lips. He waited for the right time. He could hear Skrawl's shouts for him to change direction. He didn't listen. As they reached a certain point, where he'd only have a few seconds left to react before he collided, he suddenly jerked the board upwards and flew up towards the sky.

The action was so swift that Skrawl didn't have time to react. He clung onto the end of the skateboarde for a few seconds, his stomach scraping against the bark of the tree as they went up. He found he couldn't hang on anymore and his grip loosened, then released form the hoverboard. He fell onto the ground in a heavy thud.

"Whoa!" Snap cried as the beast flapped frantically to change direction.

It wasn't enough. In a matter of seconds, the beast smashed against the tree. Its wings stiffened up for a few seconds, then wing limp as the beast slowly slid towards the ground. It landed on top of Skrawl. The two just laid there as Snap jumped off from the pile and went up to Rudy.

"That was some smart thinking, Bucko!" Snap said. He turned his head back to the two. "So, uh, what do you want to do with these two?" He asked as he rubbed his head thoughtfully.

"I..."

Then it dawned on him. There was something he had completely forgotten about. No, two things he forgot about. He stared at Snap, eyes widening. He looked as if an apocalypse was about to be brought down. He looked in the direction where the portal was. How could he have forgotten about it? He stared at it, looked back at Snap, then ran towards the portal.

"Where are you going?!" Snap called out after him.

"I forgot to erase the portal!" Rudy shouted.

At this, Snap let out a gasp. "You what?!"

"Hold on, this will just take a second!" Rudy said as he reached the portal. "After this, there's something I must tell you!"

Rudy was so focused on getting the portal erased that he didn't hear Snap's cry of pain as something heavy struck him. He didn't hear the footsteps racing towards him. He didn't hear Skrawl's shouts of frustration. And when he did finally notice the shadow falling upon him, it was too late.

Without warning, Rudy felt something heavy thrown against him. Despite the relatively small size of the portal, the force of the throw was enough to squeeze both of them through at the same time.

Rudy hit the ground of the classroom in a heavy thud. His head banged against a chair and he groaned in pain. He lifted himself up and rubbed the sore spot on his head. He got up onto his feet and went over to erase the portal. He didn't get far when he was suddenly pushed into the ground.

That's when he realized who had been thrown out with him.

"Hey, Master Tabootie...fancy meeting you here..." Skrawl sneered.


	9. Hurt Me, Hurt You

Rudy stammered, "H-How did you..."

Skrawl smirked at him. "Does that really matter? Are you...surprised, chalk boy?"

Although he still in a state of shock, Rudy managed to nod his head. "You never attempted to leave ChalkZone before..."

"Well perhaps now was a good time to change that, eh?" Skrawl said as he took a step towards Rudy.

The 15 year old wasn't sure what he was going to do. He did still have the magic chalk, but it was useless outside of ChalkZone. He could try pushing Skrawl, but that would bring him within close contact. In ChalkZone, he wouldn't think twice about this since he had protection. He was a creator there. Anything and everything he could need to help was at his disposal. But here...when it came to brute strength, Skrawl beat him hands down here.

If he tried to push Skrawl, that would open up a window of opportunity for the jellybean thing to grab him. Skrawl's arms might be skinny, but they were much stronger than they looked. Not to mention his fingers were quite sharp despite not looking like typical claws. Skrawl could do a number on him if allowed to get close enough.

Rudy thought back to what happened seconds ago. Though his mind didn't register it before, he realized he heard sounds as he fell through. Something with Skrawl and Snap...Oh no, Snap, what happened to him? Rudy remembered Snap's cry of pain. Had he been attacked by the beast? Skrawl's placement in front of the portal made it impossible to see if Snap was there or not.

But it was a safe assumption that he wasn't there. If Rudy knew Snap, and he did quite well, the blue superhero would have jumped through the portal to attack Skrawl. He wouldn't just abandon Rudy during a time like this. Seeing Snap wasn't coming out, not hearing his voice calling out his name, Rudy knew something was very wrong. The only thing that came to his mind is that the beast attacked Snap. He needed to see if he was okay.

He couldn't get that close to the portal without Skrawl trying to lash out at him. The jellybean didn't move too far from his spot. It was like he was confident in his abilities that he could keep Rudy out of ChalkZone. Skrawl was intelligent and could figure these things out quite fast. Unable to get to ChalkZone, Rudy had to think of another way to deal with the situation.

Rudy took a step back, looking around for some kind of weapon to use. His eyes soon spotted the eraser. He looked over at Skrawl to keep an eye on him as he reached for the eraser. He didn't have time to grab it when Skrawl suddenly seized him by the arm.

"Going somewhere?" Skrawl asked calmly as he lifted Rudy off the ground. "Where are your manners, Master Tabootie? Don't tell me you're too high and mighty to show some hospitality towards me. After all, I am visiting your world, your home!"

Rudy struggled to yank his arm free. "You don't belong here, Skrawl! Go back to ChalkZone!"

Skrawl chuckled. "Oh that is right. That's my home..." He moved his face closer. In a low voice, he continued, "..not yours..." He watched as Rudy continued to struggle in his grasp. "You are such a hypocrite, Master Tabootie. You act like I'm trespassing on your home, but you frolic all over my beautiful future kingdom like you run the joint!"

When Skrawl finally dropped Rudy, the boy backed up, his body tense as he prepared for a fight. One he knew he didn't have much of a chance of winning. But he wasn't about to back down from Skrawl.

"I don't know what your deal is, Skrawl! You know for a fact that I don't parade around trying to rule ChalkZone! It is you! You're the one who does that! And I'm sick of it!" Rudy made a sharp motion with his arm like he was cutting through something in front of him. "Don't you have anything better to do?!"

Skrawl thought about this for all of one second before replying. "Nope." He bared his pale yellow teeth in a broad grin. "You never gave me a purpose, chalk boy. So I made one for myself..." He shoved a finger against Rudy's shoulder. "And I'm not about to let you take that away from me!"

With that, he swatted Rudy to the side. The boy lifted himself up onto his knees. He shook his head and looked up at Skrawl.

"I've always bested you Skrawl..." Rudy hissed. "What makes you think this will be any different?"

"You've only ever beaten me because of luck! That, and your wretched magic chalk! Of course you can win against me if you can draw whatever you want in midair! Of course you'll always be one step ahead of me if you can instant materialize a counter attack!" Skrawl ranted, his hand clutched into a fist. "That's what made my hatred for you intensify all these years, Rudy Tabootie... It's because you've only won with a cheat code. Whereas I had to build everything myself!"

"I thought Craniac 4 was..." Rudy shut his mouth when Skrawl's eyes blazed in anger, turning into swirls.

"Craniac?! Don't you dare mention that name in my presence!" Skrawl reached his heand in the air, the fingers flexing. "He keeps ruining my beautiful plans and then he had the gall to turn against me! That ungrateful ingrate!"

Rudy winced as Skrawl's voice got louder. He was worried that someone was going to hear him. Even with the door shut, even with the walls being a little thick, Skrawl's voice was getting so loud that someone walking down the halls could hear him. Rudy had a terrible thought. What if Mr. Cosmo heard his screaming?

He decided to do something he never did before, not since the first time he encountered Skrawl. He tried to calm him down.

"Shh be quiet, Skrawl!" Rudy took a couple steps towards him, motioning downward with hs hands. "Do you want someone to hear you?"

But Skrawl was having none of it. He swatted at Rudy, who managed to get out of the way this time. "I will talk however I want to talk, chalk boy! What are you going to do about it? Draw something to hit me with? Oh wait, that's right!" He began to stalk towards Rudy. "You don't have any magic chalk...not here in the real world, do you? Yes, the magic chalk only works in ChalkZone. Here...you are powerless..."

Rudy winced, not liking the way Skrawl said 'powerless'. As Skrawl moved towards him menacingly, Rudy frantically looked around, trying to find some way to defend himself. Seeing his large text book Mr. Cosmo gave him earlier, Rudy flung it at Skrawl, hitting him in the face.

This did little to slow down Skrawl. Instead, it enraged him. He took a moment to rub the sore spot on his face where the book hit him before he screeched Rudy's name and lunged for him.

sss

Mr. Cosmo watched as he leaned back in his chair. He stared in the classroom through his one way mirror. When he had seen Skrawl fall through with Rudy, he kept calm. His eyes did widen a little, but for the most part, he was pleased. The plan was going through nicely, better than he had expected.

Of course, he was not expecting a confrontation between the two to happen like this. It was clear the jellybean thing, whom the kid called Skrawl, didn't like the boy very much. And how interesting the thing had called Rudy 'master'. Was he his creator? Skrawl seemed to confirm that when he said Rudy never gave him a purpose.

He was also intrigued with how there was talk about ruling this chalk world. So this creature wants to be the boss of all of ChalkZone? How interesting. It seemed he may have found the right creature after all. He had a feeling he would prove useful later on. He couldn't do anything now, not yet. No, he had to wait for the right time.

Mr. Cosmo didn't dwell on this too long. He needed to prepare for the next phase of the plan. This phase was almost complete. He informed Ms. Saffron of what to do. He expected her to fulfill her part, and he knew she would.

He could tell she didn't agree with what he was doing. At least, not totally. But it was clear that she was afraid of this chalk world. She didn't understand its full potential. All she could see was a dangerous world with unknown threats. And he could easily use that against her. He had easily convinced her that, by helping him, she is ensuring the safety of town. And he promised her, so long as she did what he told her to do, none of these chalk abominations could harm her.

Indeed, these chalk creatures had some advantages over flesh and bone beings. He watched as Rudy fought with Skrawl, studying their behaviors, motions, and reactions. Cosmo guessed that, being made of chalk, Skrawl was much less likely to be affected by something like a knife in the chest. With blood, mortally injuring him in the real would would be harder. He could see why Rudy was clearly at the disadvantage.

But then...a thought crossed the man's mind. If this being were made of chalk, and it was quite obvious he was, with that chalky outline and all, would that mean he was also vulnerable to things that could destroy or alter chalk? Would he display the same symptoms? Could he possibly be killed?

A wicked smile appeared on the man's face. Things just got a lot more interesting.

sss

Rudy kept trying to get to the portal. He wasn't able to get that close. Skrawl kept swatting him away, keeping him away from the portal. It was clear that he didn't want him back in ChalkZone. Rudy knew he had to find some way to get Skrawl to want to go back to ChalkZone. But how?

His mind went to the eraser, but he couldn't see it now. In the dodging, he accidentally kicked it somewhere. Until he could see it, he'd had to put up with keeping away from Skrawl and trying to go around him.

Skrawl moved faster and with more agility for someone with just three limbs, and especially of someone of his...generous weight. ChalkZone had a slightly different set of rules of gravity, resulting in Skrawl being easily picked up by him when he was 10 years old. Here in the real world, however, well that was a different story. Skrawl, like Snap when he visited the real world, was subject to the same laws of physics this world had. In other words, he didn't just look heavy; he felt heavy.

Skrawl had the advantage in this fight. He was stronger than Rudy, able to lift up the chairs with ease and toss them at him. He frequently was able to get close enough to take another swipe at Rudy in a matter of seconds, thanks to his limbs which still retained their strength.

"Why don't you fight back, Rudy Tabootie?" Skrawl taunted, lifting up another chair to toss. It was clear he didn't care about causing any noise, so long as he was able to defeat Rudy. "Oh! I know why! It's because you cannot use your precious chalk! Well too bad! You're playing with the big boys now Rudy! Let us see how you can manage to beat me without cheating!"

By this point, Rudy was desperate to stop the fight. His eyes kept warily looking towards the door, half expecting Mr. Cosmo to burst through any second and who knows what or who else. If he didn't end the fight soon...

"Please Skrawl! We have to stop this!" Rudy begged him. "If Mr. Cosmo comes in and sees you..."

"Let him see me!" Skrawl waved a dismissing hand at Rudy. "Do you think I fear any of you humans? I am not afraid of this Mr. Cosmo! He can try to capture me and put me in a giant jar for all I care! Because it will not work!" He struck out at Rudy again, barely missing him. "Hold still!"

"You don't know anything about Mr. Cosmo! Well..." Rudy paused. "..neither do I..." He glared at Skrawl. "I do know he could be a threat to both of us. You gotta listen to me for once, Skrawl! Go back to ChalkZone! There's still time left!"

Skrawl chuckled at this. Standing on one limb, he spread the others out like he wanted a hug. He flexed the fingers menacingly. A hideous grin spread across his face.

"Why should I? There's still a little time, as you said, Master Tabootie...why don't I make perfect use of that time...by getting rid of you once and more all..."

He began to walk over to Rudy. The boy started to move backwards, trying to get away from him. He soon found himself being backed into a wall.

"Now that you have no special powers...you're just like any average zoner. Here, you're just a kid. One that got in way over his head...I would be foolish not to take this opportunity. You have been a pest, a thorn in my side for far too long, chalk boy!"

Rudy pressed his back against the wall. Skrawl moved in closer, causing Rudy to feel cramped. Skrawl's form, though not as massive to him as it was when he was younger, still seemed to tower over him, casting a shadow on him. The teenager looked around. He needed something, anything, to aid him.

"I am so going to enjoy this. I dreamt of this day for years. The day that I finally won't have you butting in my business! The day I can move forward with my plans of claiming what is rightfully mine!"

Rudy spotted something on the ground that would be helpful. He kept an eye on Skrawl. In his ranting monologue, Skrawl had turned his gaze upwards and moved a limb up into the air, the fist clenched tightly. Using this window of opportunity, Rudy knelt down to grab the object.

"And to think it took five years! Hmm...well I suppose that isn't too long of a wait..." Skrawl rubbed his face thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. "Oh well..now..." He sneered down towards Rudy. "..where was I...?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "You won't be doing anything to me today, Skrawl. Either you get back into ChalkZone..." He took a step forward despite the little room. Surprisngly, Skrawl took a step back, but he still grinned at the boy. "..or I will make you.."

Skrawl laughed at this, throwing his head back and opening his mouth wide. He laughed for a few seconds, wiping his eyes. "Oh that is rich!" He pointed a finger at Rudy. "And just how do you think you will get me to do anything you say?"

"Like this!"

Rudy whipped out the eraser he picked up. He shoved it in Skrawl's direction. The jellybean's smile faltered almost instantly. He didn't look scared, but now he was tense, his odd-eyes widened. He looked more stunned than anything, as if he didn't expect Rudy to do this.

Rudy moved towards Skrawl, raising the eraser as if it were a sword. "Get back into ChalkZone."

Skrawl took a few steps back, his eyes glued on the eraser. He had never been in the real world before, but it was clear he had enough knowledge to know what an eraser was. The marks of chalk were still on it. Skrawl would know full well what this would do to him if it were to touch him. No longer did he talk; he only stared.

Rudy hated using threats. He felt that doing so made him look like a horrible person. He'd rather be persuasive in a less hostile way. But in this case, he didn't think he had much of a choice. Skrawl never listens to him, not unless it benefited him. Skrawl didn't understand the dangers of the real world. He didn't know what Mr. Cosmo could possibly do to him. This was the only way he could keep ChalkZone a secret.

It appeared the threat was working. Skrawl was making his way back towards the portal. Little by little, inch by inch, he got closer. When he was standing in front of the portal, he stared at Rudy in the eyes for a few seconds. Rudy winced at what he saw. There was anger, which didn't surprise him. But underlining that was a look that told him Skrawl still had it in for him, that if he himself stepped into ChalkZone again, he would be there, ready to...

This thoughts were interrupted when he heard a smack against the chalkboard and Skrawl falling to the ground. Rudy could have sworn he felt something too, perhaps the rush of air as Skrawl fell? He dismissed it and ran over to Skrawl.

"What happened?" Rudy asked him. "Why didn't you go through?"

Skrawl rubbed his face. "You tell me, chalk boy!"

Rudy looked over at the portal. His eyes widened slowly. No, it couldn't be, could it? When did this happen? How could they not have seen it? Not have noticed it?

The portal had been sealed...sort of. Something big and heavy now blocked their path. Rudy reached over and touched it. It felt quite solid, but, oddly, it didn't feel like most things he felt in ChalkZone. This thing had a different texture, almost as if it were...from the real world.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, and Mr. Cosmo's voice tore through the room. "Rudy? I'll be coming in shortly! I'll give you some time to finish up what you got done!"

The shout came so unexpectantly that Rudy jerked in surprise. His grip on the eraser came off. The object sailed in the air...and landed on Skrawl's foot. It rubbed up against the very edge of the jellybean's foot. Skrawl cried out in pain as part of his toe, though small and minute, was erased.

Rudy clutched his foot, body tensing up as a sudden feeling of pain swept through him. He sat down on the chair and rubbed his foot through his shoe, gritting his teeth at the pain.

"What's wrong with you?" Skrawl asked. There was only a hint of pain in his voice, managing to hide the agony of having a part of him erased.

"I..." Rudy said, pulling off his shoe slowly. "I felt that..."

Looking at his toe confirmed what Rudy suspected. The front of his toe was bloodied, red and sore at the tip. With a shaking hand, he touched the tip and immediately recoiled in pain. In response, Skrawl hissed, flinching as if Rudy kicked him on his toe.

"How...?" For one of the rare times in his life, Skrawl was speechless.

Rudy didn't have an answer.


	10. To Aid The One You Hate

Rudy stared down at his injured toe. The bleeding had stopped, thankfully, and the wound didn't appear too deep. He was about to grab his magic chalk to draw something until he remembered he was still in the real world. Frowning, he looked around the room to find an alternative. The only thing was a small box of tissues and some clear scottish tape. Oh well, it'd have to do.

Knowing Skrawl would not be of any help and knowing there was little time before Mr. Cosmo would come in, Rudy limped over to grab the items. Walking on the foot was a tad difficult and he took great care to keep the big toe off the ground. After he got what he needed, he sat back down on the nearest chair and began to dress his small but very painful wound.

Looking at his toe, the tip of it looked flat, as if it had been sliced off. It didn't feel like any bone was effected, so that was good. He still didn't understand how this could have happened, though. It happened as soon as Skrawl's toe was partially erased. Comparing the two in his mind, Rudy noted that, taking body size into account, the wound was on the same toe and the same size as both of them. And Skrawl's previous reaction when he touched his own toe confirmed what he said before.

Somehow, someway, they were able to feel each other's pain. This frightened Rudy. How could it have happened? And when did it start? Clearly it had to have been sometime after they came into this room together. Did the portal have something to do with it? No, it couldn't have been. He'd been through a portal at the same time as Penny or Snap a good number of times over the years. And never once did such an issue arise.

There was a thought he had, and it wasn't a very pleasant one. It was that Mr. Cosmo had something to do with it. There were many different types of chalk, many with their own powers. He shuddered at the thought of red chalk, and how each drawing it created was like the fires of the underworld in the form of a red-tinted beast. No matter what it was, even as simple as a ball or line, beings made out of red chalk were dangerous and hostile towards anyone, even, at times, each other.

Could Mr. Cosmo had gotten a hold of some special chalk that had an effect he never heard of before? But that would require an extensive knowledge of ChalkZone, or at least enough to know about magic chalk and where the Chalk Mine was. No, that couldn't be the reason. It was impossible. Not even Terry and Vinnie figured that much out on their own.

Yet...he couldn't think of anything else. His eyes moved towards the box what read White Lightning. Could he really believe Mr. Cosmo gave him the real White Lightning? Could the chalk, despite still being white, be something else? It sounded way too farfetched. It still wouldn't leave his mind. If Mr. Cosmo did know a lot more than he was letting on...then...that would mean...

"How did you hurt your toe?" Skrawl said, breaking the silence. The large jellybean had moved towards Rudy, his odd-eyes staring at the now bandaged toe. He seemed to notice the flat tip as well. "It looks like you cut off part of your own toe."

Rudy, gingerly, pulled his sock back on. He was relieved that there wasn't a sting this time. "I don't know what happened, Skrawl, but somehow, you and I are connected."

Skrawl's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure?"

Rudy nodded as he slipped his shoe on and tied it. "There's no other explanation, Skrawl. And before you ask, no I don't know how this happened. I'll need to get back into ChalkZone and talk to Biclops. He may know what to do."

Skrawl's face contorted into anger. "Well you better! I have important things to do!" He gripped Rudy by his shirt collar. "I can't be ruler of anything if I have you attached to me like some kind of freaky parasite!"

Rudy grabbed Skrawl's hand pushed it away. "I'll do what I can! In the mean time, we'll just have to be careful. Since we can feel each other's pain, it's best that we..."

"...form a truce?" Skrawl finished for him, his voice full of disgust at the idea.

"We don't have a choice and you know that. If I attack you, I get hurt, I feel the pain. And the same is in reverse. You can't lay a finger on me to hurt me, because then you'd be hurting yourself." The 15 year old explained. He got up from the desk and took a step towards Skrawl. "And until we figure out exactly what happened and how to fix it, we should both take precautions and not fight each other. We should also take care not to hurt ourselves."

Skrawl grinned at this. "So if I were cut myself, you get cut too?"

Rudy nodded once. He could see where this was going. He had to discourage Skrawl from doing anything rash. "If I bang my knee against a hot iron, you'd feel the same thing I do, and trust me, it wouldn't be pleasant."

Skrawl's grin faded. "Oh." He said with great disappointment. "So I guess I can't annihilate you...yet."

"No, you can't. How disappointing." Rudy was being sarcastic of course. Like he would want Skrawl to be able to kill him. That was the only good thing about this connection. Skrawl can't, for now, do anything to harm him directly. Although he still could hurt his friends...

"Rudy! I'm coming in!" It was Mr. Cosmo.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Rudy frantically looked around for some place to hide Skrawl. He couldn't let Mr. Cosmo see him. It would be disasterous. With Snap, at least he could pass for a student. But Skrawl...he looked nothing like a real world animal, let alone a person. As much as he hated Skrawl, he couldn't let him get captured, even if they weren't connected.

He thought about the chalkboard, but what if Mr. Cosmo decided to stay in here? He wasn't sure how long Skrawl could hide, and then there was a chance of him getting erased. And if Skrawl got erased...Rudy's body shook at the idea. If erasing just one small portion hurt as much as it did, he didn't want to imagine how much it would hurt even more if all of Skrawl got erased. It could even kill him.

The door knob was moving. Rudy didn't have much time. He erased the portal first before pulling a large dirty map that was laying down in the corner, unused. He wipped it over Skrawl, covering him up.

"Tabootie! What is the meaning of this?!" Skrawl screeched at him. "You can't...!"

Rudy held onto Skrawl and shushed him. "Be quiet, Skrawl! Just keep still! I know you don't take humans seriously as threats, but you have to listen to me on this! If Mr. Cosmo finds you here, he could..."

He didn't have time to finish. The door swung open. Skrawl immediately went stiff, reluctantly following Rudy's orders. Rudy put on the best fake smile that he could as Mr. Cosmo walked into the room. His arms were folded and he had a glare on his face. He looked rather disappointed.

"Oh Rudy..." Mr. Cosmo shook his head. "Did you spend the whole time in here creating that useless statue?"

Rudy felt Skrawl shake. He noted that it must be taking Skrawl all his willpower not to lash out at Cosmo. A part of Rudy wished he could do that, but that would not be right and it would land him into more trouble.

Mr. Cosmo looked around the room and sighed as he saw the flipped chairs and desks. "Tsk, tsk...and it seems you couldn't control your temper." He gave Rudy a sideways glance. "Perhaps Ms. Saffron was right about you. Perhaps you are a juvenile delinquent."

Rudy growled at him, but held back. Despite the pang of pain he felt in his heart, he couldn't do anything to strike out against Mr. Cosmo. He could only stand around and take it.

"I was hoping that I could prove her wrong. After all, you don't seem like a kid that would be a criminal. But after seeing this..." He gestured to the chairs and tables strewn about in the room. "...perhaps I was the one who misjudged you." He finished in a low voice. He walked over and picked up the heavy textbook. "Maybe Reggie Bullnerd was the right choice for this experiment after all. You may leave. I will give you one more chance, at a randomnly chosen time, and this time I will be keeping an eye on you. If you do better then, perhaps I will take back what I said about you."

Rudy glared at him. "How very kind of you..." He said in a low voice.

"Don't look at me that way." Mr. Cosmo said. "I gave you a chance. You were the one who chose to ignore it. Be grateful I am considering trying again with you." He waved a dismissing hand. "Now get out of here. I have to report your rather...unfavorable behavior in here to Mr. Wilter. Be hopeful that he'll be...understanding."

Rudy had enough. He didn't want to hear anything more from this man. He gripped Skrawl tightly, forgetting about the connection, ignoring the clunching feeling in his own side, and began to walk away. He paused in the door way, and, for a brief moment, locked angry eyes with Mr. Cosmo. Then he walked away, pushing Skrawl with him.

What nerve that man had. How dare he judge him like that. How could he do that? He didn't know him that well. His thoughts went back to Ms. Saffron. It seemed fitting that they were working together. They both shared the same, horrible habit of accusing innocent students of being criminals.

Or did they? He didn't know much about them either, now that he thought about it. Would he really be in the right to judge them so harshly? Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding, and he was blowing it all out of proportion. Perhaps...

..no. He shook his head. As he guided Skrawl down the hallways, trying to find a place to hide him for a time, he only knew one thing.

He was going to prove them wrong. Somehow, someway, he was going to show them how wrong they were about them.

As he disappeared down the hallway, he did not notice Mr. Cosmo giving him a smile, faint, but full of eeriness and knowing.

sss

"So...how did it go?" Ms. Saffron asked cautiously as she stood outside the classroom Rudy had been in. She had heard someone talking and realized that Mr. Cosmo must be done.

She didn't get an answer. Maybe she had spoken too softly. She edged closer into the room, and peered inside. She could see Mr. Cosmo standing there, his face unreadable. He was staring at the chalkboard as if it had sprouted glowing horns. She tried calling out to him again, but he didn't pay any attention to her.

"Mr. Cosmo sir...?"

Saffron was starting to get a little worried. What...just what had happened in here? Why was he unresponsive? She thought that maybe there had been an argument and Rudy had said something terrible to him. No, she told herself, that would not make any sense. Mr. Cosmo never came across as the kind of guy to let something so small shake him up.

Indeed, upon closer inspection, she didn't see any signs of hurt on the man's face. It was still blank, but it wasn't totally devoid of emotion. She had to look real close, but she could see the faint ghost of a smile.

She deduced it must have been a success. He wouldn't be smiling, even faintly, if it hadn't. She knew him well enough. She felt a strange sensation of relief. Had she been worried something would have gone wrong? As much as she didn't want to think about it, she had been worried for him. She had been worried what the chalk creature would have done. She could have easily walked in on a massacre...

She thought back to what she was instructed to do. One of the tasks anyway. She wasn't sure it was a good idea. In fact, it seemed like a terrible idea. But Cosmo had insisted that she do it. He promised her that things would work out in the end. But could she really believe that?

"Everything is falling into place." Mr. Cosmo's voice game, startling Ms. Saffron. "The boy is making this too easy."

"Mr. Cosmo?" Ms. Saffron asked. When the man finally turned to look at her, she gave a hard swallow before saying, "I...I finished that task...but...are you sure it was a good idea? What if..."

Mr. Cosmo interrupted her. "Next phase will soon be in progress, Ms. Saffron." He began to walk towards the door. He gestured her to follow with a movement of his finger. "Come along. We mustn't waste time."

Ms. Saffron stared after him. She knew what he was going to do. And she wasn't sure it was safe. Still, though reluctant, she followed him.

sss

Hiding Skrawl in broad daylight had been difficult. Rudy knew that he couldn't just keep walking down the hallways with Skrawl covered up. He had temporarily placed Skrawl in a janitor's closet while he went to get Penny. Skrawl was none too happy about it and started to complain. These were muffled as he shut the door, keeping him locked inside.

If anyone would have any suggestions on what to do with him, Penny would. He looked at the time and knew it was almost lunch. He could talk to her now and they could work out a solution. He needed someway to get Skrawl back into ChalkZone before anyone spotted him. The janitor wasn't set to clean until sometime after school ended. While this meant that Skrawl wouldn't be discovered yet, it did mean they didn't have all the time in the world to diddle dally.

When he finally got a chance to speak to her, he couldn't believe what she suggested. The idea, it was ludicrous. It was dangerous. It put his family in danger, himself. How could she think of such a thing.

He stared at her, mouth agape. He was holding a spoon in his hand, but he hadn't tried to eat the food. Instead, he was focused on staring at Penny, wondering if she had truly gone off the deep end. But Penny's expression told him she was completely serious.

"Rudy, it's the only way." Penny said in a soft voice. She leaned closer to Rudy. "How else do you expect him to get back to ChalkZone before someone finds him?"

"B-But...to go home and..."

"Rudy, it will be fine." Penny said with as much reassurance in her voice as she could muster.

Rudy wasn't convinced.

Penny sighed. "Look, you said you two were connected, right?" A nod came from Rudy as a response. "He can't do anything to you."

Oh...that was right. Rudy had forgotten all about that. But there was still the matter of his parents. What would stop Skrawl from doing something to them? He knew the jellybean hated him greatly. He wouldn't put it past Skrawl to do something to his parents to get back at him.

"I know what you're thinking, Rudy. And I don't think you have to worry about Skrawl doing anything. You and I will be there the whole time, and if he tries something, we'll catch him." Penny assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "As soon as lunch is done, I'll grab the cart so Skrawl can pose as an unfinished art piece. That way, we won't draw much attention from people as we take him to your house. Okay?"

Rudy still was unsure, but he knew he had to have faith in Penny. This would work. He knew it. He smiled the best he could and said, "All right."

Rudy's mind then went to Snap. He hated having to erase the portal when he knew Snap was somewhere on the other side. He had no idea what happened to him. That scream...it had to have been something terrible. He was left with a worse feeling having to leave, since it felt like abandoning his friend.

He needed to get back to ChalkZone as soon as possible. But it would be hours before he could head back. School day wasn't over yet, and then he and Penny had to hide Skrawl, which could slow them down greatly. He bit his lip, hoping Snap wasn't too far away.

"Rudy?" Penny asked. "What's wrong?"

Rudy looked at her, confused, until he realized he didn't tell her about Snap yet. He mentally slapped himself for forgetting to do that.

"I was in ChalkZone...and there was this beast that Skrawl tried to capture. Snap helped me ruin Skrawl's plan, but then Skrawl flew out of the portal, like he had been pushed...and I heard Snap scream..." Rudy's voice was low and his eyes were downcast.

Penny looked at him sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Rudy... We'll get back to ChalkZone. I'm sure Snap will be okay."

"I sure hope you're right, Penny..."

sss

"Easy..easy..." Penny said as they worked to get the cart they were allowed to use for one day into Rudy's house.

They hit a bump, causing the wheel to go over Rudy's injured toe. He stifled a scream, a tear coming to his eye. There was a cry of pain from Skrawl, who began to rant.

"Watch it will you?!" He snapped. "I can't have...!"

"Shh! Be quiet Skrawl!" Penny told him. Her eyes widened, she looked around to see if Rudy's parents were coming. When no one came, she let out a sigh of relief. She glared at Skrawl, who was still completely covered, though this time with a light pink sheet she found in the art room. "Do you want Rudy's parents to find you?"

A scoff came from the potato-shaped zoner. "As if I care! What are they going to do? Hug me to do death with parental love?" He shuddered as he said the last two words.

"That's not how parents work, Skrawl." Rudy said as he got the cart towards the stairs. "You aren't their son. You don't have to worry about them hugging you to death. I don't think they'd even want to touch you."

"Well good! The future ruler of ChalkZone..."

"Shut up!" Rudy snapped at him. He was not in the mood to hear another one of Skrawl's rants on how he will one day rule ChalkZone. He wished that, for once, Skrawl would be quiet.

But Rudy's demand didn't do much to stop Skrawl. Instead, it enraged him. He could hear Skrawl's cry of anger rise up, getting louder. If it hadn't been for their connection, the zoner would have lunged at him in a fury. The only thing that made him stop moving was the sound of Rudy's father coming in from the kitchen. Rudy and Penny froze too.

"Hey there, son!" Mr. Tabootie said with a smile. He took notice of the object on the cart. "Fancy! What is this for?"

"It's...uh..." Rudy struggled to think of something.

"For an art contest!" Penny finished for him.

"An art contest? How lovely! What is it? Can I see?" Mr. Tabootie said as he grabbed the cloth to pull it up.

Rudy yanked it back down. "You..You can't see it yet! It's...uh..unfinished! I brought it here so I can complete it. I don't want anyone to see until it's done!"

"Oh...okay." Mr. Tabootie sounded disappointed. "Can you at least tell me what it is?"

Rudy hardly took time to think of an answer before spewing out a reply, "It's a giant cootie monster!"

Penny put a hand on her mouth and tried not to laugh. Rudy felt a sensation of embarrassment take over him. His dad looked at him, eyes a little widened to indicate shock. He could hear Skrawl's growls of anger from underneath the cloth.

Before Mr. Tabootie could say anything, there was a low 'Rudy' drawl from the so-called 'statue'. He immediately snapped his head over to it. "What was that?"

"That was me!" Penny said, drawing the dad's attention to her. "I was practicing my ventroliquism!"

It was hard to tell if Mr. Tabootie was convinced by that or not. Nonetheless, he smiled at them and didn't question them any further.

"Okey dokey then! Good luck on the contest, Rudy!"

Rudy didn't thank his dad. He and Penny were racing upstairs. He wasn't worried. To his dad, he was merely in a rush to get his piece of art finished. A part of him couldn't believe that actually worked. But another part of him felt guilty.

More lying. More lies just piling on. How long would he be able to do this?

They entered the room and shut the door tightly. Skrawl jumped from the cart and ripped the cloth away. He looked pissed off for having to wear a cloth over his head for so many hours. Even in the closet, he had been instructed not to take it off just in case. Rudy didn't want to take any chances.

"Finally!" He shouted, stretching his feet. He swiveled around and glared at Rudy. "I can't believe you called me a cootie."

Penny looked at Rudy. "Why did you say that, anyway?"

"My mind was drawing a blank. I had to think of something!" Rudy told her. "But we shouldn't dwell on this now. Skrawl, I'll draw you a portal to get back to ChalkZone."

Skrawl snarled at him, but said nothing. Rudy got up and picked up one of his magic chalk pieces. He pressed it against the chalkboard and began to draw a circle...

...which didn't appear at all. His eyes snapped wide in panic. He tried again. Nothing was showing up, not even the faintest of light.

"No..."

"I'm waiting." Skrawl tapped his foot impatiently. When he saw Rudy just staring at the chalkboard, Skrawl raised a fist in the air. "Didn't you hear me, chalk boy?! I said I'm waiting!"

Penny sensed something was wrong. "Rudy? What is it?"

"The chalk, it's..." Rudy looked over at her. "..it's not working."

Skrawl's furrowed expression relaxed as a wave of shock hit him. "What? But..but I've seen you use this particular chalkboard before! How could it not..."

"I don't know." Rudy said. He tried again. No luck. "It just won't work..."

"And I think I found out why..." Penny said in a whisper. Skrawl and Rudy looked over towards her. She picked up a small can that was laying on the ground. "Someone sabotaged your portal, Rudy..." There was strong disbelief in her voice. She glanced at Skrawl. "You will have to spend the night. It's too risky to attempt to take you anywhere right now."

Rudy was stunned. His mind was numb from the information Penny gave him. Sabotage? But...but how? How could have...?

Then he realized the cold, chilling truth. There were only two people he could think of..how could have done something like this. And it wasn't Vinnie or Terry. They were both out of town.

"Mr. Cosmo...Ms. Saffron..." Rudy said in a low voice, grinding his teeth. What were they trying to do?

...and Snap? What about Snap? He had no idea if he was all right. Had he been captured? Killed? Did that beast do something to him? His mind swirled with uncomfortable thoughts of what might have happened. And to make it all worse, there was no way he could find out tonight. He'll have to sleep knowing Snap could be in great danger, and there was nothing he could do about it...

Rudy took in a shuddering breath, fighting back tears. He ignored the look Skrawl gave him. He couldn't possibly care. He turned his attention to Penny. She looked at him worriedly, just as concerned as he was. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Rudy hugged her back.

Trying to think of something to say, Penny whispered, "It's okay...we'll find him as soon as we can...things will be all right, you'll see..."

As much as Rudy wanted to believe her, he couldn't shake off the feeling of dread rising up inside of him.


	11. Danger Coming To Light

"Oh...okay...I understand..." Penny said softly. She looked over at Rudy with a sad expression. "I'm sorry, Rudy, but I can't stay over. My mom insists I come back home."

"What? Didn't you explain..." Rudy started to say.

Penny nodded her head. "It won't sway her, Rudy. I could have told her more, but it would require...revealing ChalkZone." She lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Rudy. But I have to go home...mom says I'll be in trouble if I don't get home very soon."

Rudy sighed. He was hoping Penny could spend the night. He wasn't sure he could get to sleep easily not knowing what happened to Snap. And he wanted her company to feel safer in his own bedroom. True, Skrawl couldn't do anything, but he still felt uneasy around the zoner who wanted him dead.

Penny's mom, lately, was more adamant about Penny being home. He wondered if it had to do with the return of Penny's father. He had been absent for so many years. He didn't recall all the details, but Ms. Sanchez wanted Penny to reconnect with her estranged father. Since they were divorced, he didn't see any reason why she'd want Penny to associate with her father, unless she just wanted no tension between them or something.

He didn't try to make sense of it. It wasn't any of his business. Right now, what was of bigger concern was Skrawl and Snap, for different reasons of course. Penny assured him Snap would be okay. Penny had confidence in Snap and she believed that he got away from his attacker. She thinks Snap will be on the other side waiting for Rudy when he gets a new chalkboard from the store.

That was all fine and good. Rudy did feel a little better knowing he would be able to go back to ChalkZone soon. It wasn't like it was going to take a year. But there was still the matter of Skrawl.

He was careful not to look at him in the eyes. He didn't really feel like getting scowled at by the jellybean zoner. He felt exposed and unsafe around him. The connection to him was the only thing that would protect him. Skrawl didn't want to kill himself, so he wouldn't try to risk hurting Rudy. Yet he could still attack his parents. The thought hung over his head like a cloud. He would need to figure out something to do about that, and soon.

Skrawl was sitting in the corner of the room. He was mumbling something to himself and examining small objects on the ground with disgust. He had not really spoken to Rudy or Penny since he got there. He was clearly busy being bitter about the situation. Rudy wondered if Skrawl was kicking himself for not bringing his Beanie Boys with him, which could have turned the tide of the fight in the classroom. Oh well, at least he was being quiet. Rudy and Penny both didn't need to hear another of his egocentric speeches.

Penny slung an arm around Rudy's shoulder and pulled him close. "Tomorrow, we will return Skrawl to ChalkZone, we will find Snap, he will be fine, and everything will go back to normal. You will see."

Rudy nodded his head slowly. He forced himself to smile. Penny's comforting usually helped him. But not this time. Too much bad stuff was going on, and he was certain it was linked to Mr. Cosmo somehow. Still, he didn't want her to worry. As he smiled, he said, "You're...you're right...I'm sure... We'll get to the bottom of this..."

Penny's smile broadened a little. She placed her hands on Rudy's cheeks and gently pulled him into a kiss. After they parted, she whispered softly, "Things will turn out all right. Now..get some rest, okay?"

Rudy forced himself to reply, "Okay, Penny. I...I will try."

Skrawl watched this display of affection and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Or at least he would have if he had a nose. He turned his head away and muttered, "How revolting..."

Rudy and Penny glared at him, but they said nothing. It wasn't worth retorting back to Skrawl. He'd never understand the concept of friendship and compassion. The closest things to friends he has are the Beanie Boys, and he hardly ever displayed kindness to them.

Reluctantly, Penny left Rudy in the room alone with Skrawl. Rudy watched her leave. Oh how he wished she could stay. There was nothing he could do, though. Penny's mother was stern about her coming home. He wouldn't be able to say anything to sway her.

He shut the door and turned to Skrawl. He still needed to figure out a place for him to sleep without risking his parents walking in and seeing him. He couldn't make him be a statue again. If he fell asleep, and he was certain he would, he would topple over, which could make enough noise to alert his parents. There was no way he was sleeping in the same bed as him. There was hardly any room, plus his weight could break it down.

There was only one option left.

Rudy got up and went over to Skrawl. The jellybean glared at him, and he returned it. The two stared at each other for about a minute. They both took in the gravity of their situation. They both felt the tension of being in the same room together for an extended period weigh in on them. And they both understood there was nothing they could do about it for the time being. And that frustrated both of them to no end.

"Look Skrawl, I know you don't want to be here. I know you don't want to have anything to do with me." Rudy said sternly. "But right now, we're stuck together. So why don't you make it easier on yourself and go into the closet and sleep..." He pointed to the closet.

Skrawl chuckled halfheartedly. "You are joking right? You expect me to sleep in there?" He gestured to the closet. Rudy nodded at him. "Preposterous! There's no way I am sleeping in there! Why don't you sleep in there?"

Rudy said, "Because my parents didn't give birth to a giant jellybean monster, Skrawl. If they came in and saw you, there's a chance you could end up in worse trouble than you are already in. Go into the closet now and I'll shut the door so they won't see your face if they decide to come in."

Skrawl growled, "Why should I listen to you, little artist boy?"

"You know almost nothing about the real world, Skrawl. You don't know what kind of dangers for zoners there are here. Even something simple like water can kill you. Yeah, water. In your world, water is harmless. You wanna know what happens if you touch water here, Skrawl?" Rudy said, his voice raising slowly due to anger and frustration with Skrawl. "You will die! Okay? You will die! Is that a good enough motivator, Skrawl? Are you going to listen to me, for once in your life, and stay in the closet where you will be safe?!"

Skrawl's eyes widened at Rudy's outburst. This clearly hadn't been what he was expecting. Skrawl still didn't look happy, but he nodded his head slowly. "Okay, fine, chalk boy. I'll play by your rules..." He got up and went over to the closet. "But as soon as we get to ChalkZone..."

"I know, I know. You will try to destroy me." Rudy muttered. "Tell me what else is new..."

"Stupid human..." Skrawl muttered as he squeezed inside the closet.

Just like Rudy promised, he shut the door as soon as Skrawl was inside. He walked over to his bed and climbed up the ladder. He pulled the covers over himself and laid down to sleep. It was going to be hard getting to sleep, but he had to try.

sss

Rudy walked through the featureless landscape. It was dark, almost black. There was hardly a source of light. Just a dimly lit moon. He was walking on top of a large flat land, no features other than just the coloration. It looked greenish, but it was too dark to tell. The moon above him, so dim, was colored a pale red instead of its usual coloration.

He heard footsteps all around him. He stopped and looked around, trying to find the source of the sounds. It sounded like someone was coming at him from all angles. Tensing up, he brought out his magic chalk. Whoever was daring to attack him, he was going to be ready.

He froze when he heard a familiar voice cry out to him.

"Rudy!"

Rudy looked around frantically. "Snap? Is that you?"

"Rudy help me!" The voice called out to him again, sounding a little fainter.

"Snap!" Rudy ran towards the direction where he believed the voice was coming from. His heart pounded against his chest. His chalk almost fell from his hands as sweat covered his palm.

"Bucko, you gotta help me!" The voice sounded even fainter. No...to Rudy's horror, it wasn't fainter. It was weaker.

Rudy stopped after running for about ten minutes. Everything around him, including himself, shifted into a red hue. There was a glowing red light shifting through the area, spreading wider and wider. Rudy watched it as it slowly unveiled a sight he hoped he would never see. It took all his will power not to scream.

There, only about ten feet away from him, was Snap. But he wasn't alone. The big wolf bat creature from before was also there. Its jaws were opened partially, drool dripping from its jaws. A wing was slung across Snap's body to hold him in place. Rudy watched in terrified disgust as the beast licked Snap on the cheek.

"Let him go!" Rudy ordered.

This drew the beast's attention to him. It stared at Rudy, its teal eyes piercing through his. They did not break this staring contest for almost a full minute. Rudy started to move his magic chalk up to draw something. The beast's eyes practically twinkled with what looked like morbid satisfaction. A twisted, evil smile spread across its muzzle.

The beast roughly turned Snap around to face him. It held him still with its left foot. Snap winced as the talons started to dig into him. As its mouth opened wide, Snap understood immediately what it was about to do. His struggles increased.

"Rudy! Draw something! Quick!"

Rudy drew a pair of foot rockets and dashed over to Snap. "Hold on!"

The beast, with its jaws wide open, moved its head ever closer to Snap's struggling form.

Snap cried, "Hurry!"

"I'm coming!"

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Rudy tried to reach Snap in time.

Suddenly, there was the snapping of jaws closing shut. A sickening crack sounded out. A cry of pain split through the air. Rudy stopped where he was, taking in what had just happened. He shook his head in disbelief. Why hadn't he moved faster? Why did this have to happen? Why?

"Snap!"

sss

Rudy jolted awake in his bed, covered in sweat. He panted so fast he was pratically hyperventilating. He looked around, as if trying to find the beast that killed Snap. His heart beat so fast he thought it was going to burst open in his chest.

It took a while for him to realize what actually happened. He looked at his surroundings and eventually realized he was in his bedroom, not in ChalkZone. His heart started to slow down as he calmed himself. He took in slow, deep breaths as his frightened trembling stopped.

He wiped his face, feeling a cool liquid staining it. He had been crying. His pillow and sheets were covered in tears. His nose was runny and he wiped it off. He sniffled as he turned to look at the time. It was early morning, but for Rudy, it still felt like night. It felt like he got no sleep at all, and the dream, it felt too real.

A sickening thought swept through his mind. Had that been what happened to Snap? Was that why he had screamed? Rudy couldn't stifle the chilling shudder sweep through his body as his mind contemplated the idea. The beast was wild and ferocious. He knew it was possible that it had done something like that.

Rudy tried to push the thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to be worried about what could have happened. He was still quite shaken up, but today, he will be finding a way back to ChalkZone and seeing for himself what happened. He wanted to believe Penny was right, that Snap escaped and was waiting for him to visit.

Rudy looked over at the closet. He let out a sigh. Looks like he will have to wake up Skrawl. He couldn't just leave him without giving him some sort of instructions while he was gone. Rubbing his eyes, Rudy got out of bed, down the ladder, and towards his closet.

As he opened it, he said, "Okay, Skrawl, time to..." He stopped and his eyes widened in shock.

Skrawl was gone.

Panicking, Rudy rushed into the closet and looked around. Maybe Skrawl was playing a trick on him or something. He looked around the closet, examing the walls and the ceiling. Being a chalk drawing, Skrawl could use his two dimensional powers to stick to the surfaces of almost anything, similar to Snap. But after inspecting the closet up and down, Rudy found no trace of Skrawl.

His heart pounding returned with a vengeance. Had Skrawl done something...unspeakable to his parents? Dread and anger filled his mind. When he saw Skrawl next, he would...

Then he heard his parents talking as they walked past his bedroom. Rudy felt an immense wave of relief sweep through him. So Skrawl hadn't made a move on them...yet.

But now he was confused. Where had Skrawl gone? Had he tried to go back to ChalkZone on his own? He couldn't have been hurt by water. He would have felt it, perhaps even not wake up at all. So wherever the jellybean was, he was in good shape.

Rudy grabbed his cellphone and called Penny. When he heard the click of her picking up, he said in a frantic voice, "Penny, have you seen Skrawl?"

Penny's confused voice answered, "N-No...I haven't. Why? What happened?"

"He's disappeared!" Rudy cried. He heard Penny gasp on the other end. "I looked in the closet when I woke up and he just..disappeared!"

"Did he hurt your parents?" Penny asked cautiously.

Rudy shook his head even though Penny couldn't see it. "No, they're both fine. I heard them walking down the hallway. I'm sure they are busy making breakfast right now." He glanced at the door as he heard footsteps heading closer to him. A second later, there was a knock. "Hold on Penny." He pulled his head away and called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Rudy." Mrs. Tabootie said in an almost sing along voice.

"Come on in." Rudy said.

Mrs. Tabootie opened up the door part way and stuck her head in. She smiled at Rudy, looking almost excited about something. "The renowned reporter Mr. Cosmo wants to see you." Rudy's eyes snapped wide. "He just called and left a message. He's told the principal at your school he loved your art work and he's interested in taking you in as an apprentice at his newspaper studio. Isn't that exciting?"

Rudy stared at his mother, stunned. Art? When did Cosmo see any of his artwork? When did Cosmo say anything about wanting him to work for his newspaper company? Something about this didn't feel right.

"I..."

"Now, hurry Rudy! We're going to take you to his office! You have to be there within twenty minutes!" Mrs. Tabootie said. She motioned with her hand for Rudy to hurry up."

"Mom...do I have to?" Rudy couldn't leave. Not now. What about Snap? And he still needed to find Skrawl.

"No buts, young man!" Mr. Tabootie chimed in, pushing the door wide open. He took a few steps into the room. "You cannot miss this opportunity. You know how much your mother and I appreciate your artistic skill, Rudy. So please trust us on this. Don't pass up this chance of a life time! You know how famous and well known Mr. Cosmo is."

"Yes, but..." Rudy tried to plead with them, but it didn't work.

"Be ready in fifteen minutes, Rudy." Mrs. Tabootie said as she walked away.

Mr. Tabootie did a thumbs up to his son. "Way to go, son! I couldn't be more proud!" He shut the door as he left.

Rudy started at the door, unable to comprehend what happened. His parents words began to sink in. They were obviously excited for him. But he couldn't feel the same way. Something stank about this whole thing, but there was nothing he could do about it. His parents obviously weren't going to let this go. When they were this determined, there was little he could do to sway them.

He let out a long sigh, filled with dismay. He didn't have any choice but to do what they said. He wouldn't be able to do anything about finding Snap. He stared at the phone. He knew of someone who could.

"Listen, Penny, I gotta go. My parents are dragging me off somewhere and they won't take no for an answer." He said. "Something with Mr. Cosmo... Do you still have that piece of magic chalk I gave you a while back?"

"Yes I do." Penny answered.

"Good. Go into ChalkZone and try to find Snap and Skrawl. Text me when you find either of them." Rudy instructed.

"Will do!" Penny said. "But...what about Mr. Cosmo?"

"I'll try to finish up this meeting with him as soon as I can." Rudy said, staring at the clock. "I will call you when I'm out of there."

"Okay, Rudy. Good luck..." Penny said softly as the phone clicked off.

Rudy nodded grimly at his cellphone. "Yeah...I just might need it..." He muttered to himself as he went to get ready.

sss

Rudy stared at the large building in front of him. This was the right place, but for some reason, it felt different. Almost foreboding. He shook his head. Was he really going to let his fear of Cosmo show through like this? His parents were with him, after all. He didn't want them to get worried about them. And with them at his side, what did he have to fear?

Rudy walked between his mother and father towards the massive building. It looked almost high tech with its chrome coloration. It was sickenly beautiful to look at. And when they walked through the automatic sliding doors and reached the interior of the building, it looked even more glorious than people had talked about.

The walls were sleek and curved at the end. The ground was a magnficient marble, shining brightly as the rows of florenscent lights above them shined. Potted plants lined some of the walls, and adorning some what appeared to be partial rooms were fancy-looking chairs. A cool breeze swept through the building, but despite its chill, it gave the building an almost warm welcoming feeling.

After getting directions, Rudy and his parents headed towards the elevator and headed to the lowest floor. Stepping into what was obviously a basement, there was less of a welcoming feeling here, but it wasn't terrifying by any means. A little dirty, but it still seemed to shine, beckoning them to come forth.

Reaching the last room, the doors painted a red color, Rudy paused, hesitating. He stared at the red colored doors. Red...just like in his dream...

He shook his head and followed his parents as they opened up the double doors...

...and entering what appeared to be a large, vacant room. It was massive, but also very dark. It was like the area had some electrical issues or something. It looked like the room could be housing some large printing presses. There were some shapes that looked similar to that.

Suddenly, there was the clank of something being pulled, and the scraping of something being moved. Before Rudy knew it, there was a scream from his parents. He whipped his head around and found they fell through what appeared to be a trap door. He rushed over as the hole closed up and pounded on it.

"Mom! Dad!" Rudy cried, panic overtaking him.

"Now now, dear sweet child..."

Rudy's heart almost stopped when he heard that voice. He turned around. A pale light glowed, revealing a desk with a too familiar man sitting there.

"They will be fine, I assure you." Mr. Cosmo said in a calm voice. "They've just been..shown the door. I couldn't have our little chat interrupted."

Rudy jumped to his feet and gritted his teeth. "If you think I'm staying here..."

"On the contrary, I know you are." Mr. Cosmo said.

As he finished that sentence, Rudy gasped in horror as a set of bars blocked his path out of the room. He turned to look back at Mr. Cosmo, and noticed the light got a little brighter. He saw Ms. Saffron standing next to the man, and, a little further to the side, he saw Skrawl. He was trapped in a large tank. His breathening quickening, Rudy looked back at Cosmo as he started to speak again.

"Why don't you just relax...and let's chat..."


	12. The Victim Enemy

How could this have happened?

How did he not forsee any of this?

How could he have been so stupid?

Rudy had known something was up with Mr. Cosmo. He knew there was an odd vibe coming off of him. He had been suspicious of him, never letting his guard down around him. He had a feeling that Mr. Cosmo had been up to no good. He had the ability to think ahead, and come up with a plan to get him out of a situation like this...

...and yet he did not. He didn't heed to the caution that clouded his mind, the caution he knew he needed when approaching Mr. Cosmo. He could have done something earlier to prevent this. He could have come up with a plan and informed Penny what to do should a trap such as this was sprung.

But now it was too late for that. Rudy had been foolish enough to allow his parents to come with him. And now they were taken somewhere. What had Cosmo done to them? Was he being truthful and they were just being taken outside? Or did he have something far more sinister planned for them?

Rudy couldn't believe he had been so stupid. There was a good chance his parents were going to suffer for his mistake. He wanted to scream. He wanted to unleash all the tension that was building up in his head. But he was so struck down in shock and fear that he could barely move from his spot.

Now he stood in the middle of the room, with Mr. Cosmo and Ms. Saffron watching him from their desk. Ms. Saffron was standing a little bit off to the side. Her expression was blank, unreadable. What was going on in her mind? How involved was she in all this? That visit he got from her, had it all been part of this plan? Was Ms. Saffron just as bad as Terry, or did she have her own agenda, separate from Mr. Cosmo's?

Most of Rudy's mind paid more attention to Mr. Cosmo, whose eerie smile never faltered from his face. The light was so dim that it made his red hair look much darker than it really was. It almost looked like the same color his dream had turned into, the red hue. It caused the uncomfortable vibe the man already carried to intensify, causing Rudy to unconsciously take a step backwards.

"Are you afraid, child?" Mr. Cosmo asked tauntingly. His smile widened a little as Rudy took another step back and glared at him. "You should be. You played right into my trap."

Rudy wanted to say something in his defense, but he knew Mr. Cosmo was right. He had fallen into this trap of his. And what was worse was that he knew Mr. Cosmo would do something like this. Yet he still came. He still entered the building. He allowed himself to get caught.

How foolish he had been.

"Don't beat yourself up too much, Rudy. My plans are well thought out. I was always one step ahead of you." Mr. Cosmo interlocked his fingers together and leaned across the table. Somehow, like this, he looked far more menacing, maybe something to do with how the dim light casted shadows on his face. "I like a good game of chess...don't you, Rudy?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Rudy demanded, taking a defensive stance.

"Aren't we overreacting? No matter, you will soon learn what I mean, kid. In time..." Mr. Cosmo nodded slowly. "In time..."

Rudy tried to come up with a plan in his mind. There had to be a way out of here. There had to be a weak point in Mr. Cosmo's plan. If he could figure something out before the man had time to...

...just what did he want? So far, Mr. Cosmo had not asked about the magic chalk, or anything similar. He didn't ask Rudy about Skrawl, which was very odd considering Skrawl looked nothing like any real world creature. Potatoes and jellybeans do not have legs or a mouth or antenna. Yet despite that, Mr. Cosmo hadn't tried to demand Rudy explain Skrawl's existence. And if he wasn't going to ask about that, just what was he going to interrogate Rudy on?

Wait, was this even an interrogation? Rudy wasn't sure what to think. His confusion now intermixed with his fear. He wished Penny were here. She would be able to figure out what was the appropriate course of action. She'd know how to bail him out.

Rudy wanted answers.

"What do you want?" He asked in a low but still audible voice.

"I thought you'd never ask. I will be glad to answer." Mr. Cosmo said, his voice slightly higher pitched as his voice filled with a sickening glee, as if he got enjoyment out of this whole ordeal. He got up from his chair and walked over to the tank. He placed a hand against the thick glass. "You see this marvelous thing in here? Well he's going to be part of a little experiment. You see, new weapons are in high demand, and this guy in here...he may just be the answer."

Rudy's eyes snapped wide at this. He stammered, "You're...you're going to use Skrawl as a weapon?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing. He'd be perfect. Not many would protest because he's made of chalk, right? He was created by humans...so he must serve humans, yes?" Mr. Cosmo said happily. "So therefore...think of this as a way for him to repay his debt to the species that gave him life."

Skrawl let out an angry roar and pounded on the glass. "I am nobody's tool! You hear me! You can't make me do anything! I will not stand for this!"

Mr. Cosmo looked calmly at Skrawl. His smile became a little smaller, a little more smug. "Oh, but I can and I will."

Skrawl laughed at this. "Oh really? And just how are you going to do that?"

"I have my ways. Don't worry." Mr. Cosmo told him. He looked over at Rudy. "As for you, child...what does it matter what I do with this thing? It's not like you are friends with him."

"He's a living being too!" Rudy shouted. He took a step forward, clutching his left hand in a fist while his right pointed an accusing finger at the man. "You can't just strap a dog collar on him and expect him to be your loyal servant! You're sick, you know that?!"

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes. "Now see here, you can't..."

Mr. Cosmo put a hand on her shoulder. "No, let the little runt continue. I'd like to hear what else he can spew out."

"What kind of person do you have to be to sink so low? To force another clearly sentient being to be a pawn in your scheme of weaponry..it's disgusting! I don't know how anyone looks up to a vile person like you!" Rudy shouted at him. "You're...you're a monster!"

Rudy didn't like letting his temper get out of hand. He didn't like allowing his anger to control him and make him say terrible things. He wasn't proud of himself when he did it. He often tried to make sure he acted as rational as possible. Ever since the poison pen letter incident, he had been a bit more careful on not letting anger cloud his judgment...usually.

There were still cases where he failed to do this, and this was one of those incidents. Granted, Skrawl did a lot of bad things himself, but that didn't mean Rudy himself wanted Skrawl subjected to being turned into a weapon. Rudy wasn't cruel or heartless. He wasn't going to allow Mr. Cosmo to hurt anyone, whether it be Skrawl or someone else. He couldn't allow it.

Rudy took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He wondered if his words had any impact on the man. When he stared back, he wasn't exactly surprised by what he saw.

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him, completely tranquil. All signs of a smile were gone. But nothing indicated that he was particularly angry. He stared at Rudy for what felt like a minute before he made any kind of movement. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand as his elbow supported both.

"Why do you even care, child?" Mr. Cosmo asked.

Rudy felt his anger return. "What do you mean?"

"I know you and this...Skrawl you call him? I know the two of you are not on the best of terms. There's little reason for you to care what happens to him."

Rudy asked, "How would you know what we think of each other?"

Mr. Cosmo let out a harsh chuckle. He turned his gaze towards his desk. "Because I sent a little...spy into..what did they call it..oh yes..." He looked back at Rudy. "..ChalkZone, is it?"

Rudy gasped and took an involuntary step back. "H-How did you..."

"How do I know about ChalkZone? Oh little Rudy, you'd be amazed by how knowledgeable I am." Mr. Cosmo explained. "Let me give you a taste..." He raised a hand and snapped a finger. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Rudy looked around cautiously. He could hear footsteps and a clang of something hitting the hard floor, but he couldn't see the source. It was still quite dark in this large room. He could hear low growling and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Then the footsteps broke into a run, a louder growl sounding out.

He looked to his side, where he thought the sound was coming from. The footsteps got louder. He heard something flap against the air. He knew something was getting closer, but he couldn't see what it was. He thought he saw a bright glint in the shadows, and he prepared for a fight.

Suddenly and without warning, something large and brown jumped from the shadows. Rudy didn't have time to react as something sharp pressed against his neck and upper chest. He was thrust into the ground quickly, his head banging against the ground.

"Ow...hey watch it!" Skrawl hissed. "You're not the only one who feels that, okay?"

But Rudy didn't hear this. His full attention was on something else. And that something was holding him down, teal eyes glaring at him in the dim light. Rudy couldn't believe what he was seeing.

It was the beast..the same one he and Snap encountered in ChalkZone, the same one that was in his nightmare last night. The very same, and now it was holding him down, flashing its teeth at him. It opened up his mouth to let out a few gutteral growls. It licked its lips and looked like it fully intended on killing him.

"Rudy, this is Draow." Mr. Cosmo explained, watching the scene nonchalantly as if nothing was going on. "He's one of mine. I sent him to ChalkZone to scope out for a potential...chalk person...I should capture. And Skrawl here was the perfect one."

Rudy pushed against Draow's muzzle as the thing was getting uncomfortably close. "Why?"

"Because of your mutual hate for each other. You see, if I captured one of your friends, you would be much more resistant...But if I captured Skrawl, sure you may still not be so...receptive, but you wouldn't be as gun-ho about saving him either."

"And...and what if I had tried to erase him?" Rudy asked, still fighting against Draow's massive form.

"Ah, that's where the connection came in."

"What...?" Rudy asked, bewildered.

Mr. Cosmo snapped his finger. Draow, on cue, got off of Rudy and walked back towards his creator. He stood behind the man, placing his muzzle gently across the man's shoulder as a sign of affection. Draow's eyes still glared at Rudy as Cosmo placed a hand against his head, stroking the fur gently.

"You see, I knew that you would think of hurting Skrawl to keep me from using him. Not that I think you'd go through with it, but the potential was there. So I had to think of a way to stop you. And I came to the conclusion that, if you were in danger of being hurt too..." He paused for a moment. "...you wouldn't try anything."

Rudy wasn't sure how to take all this in. Did Mr. Cosmo confess that he was the reason why he and Skrawl felt each other's pain? How was he able to do this? How could he pull it off? Just what did he do to achieve this? So many questions swimmed in his head, making it ache.

This, all this...it had to be some kind of twisted dream, right? None of this was happening. It was all in his head. Soon, he would wake up and this nightmare would be over. He'd be talking with Penny, they'd be meeting with Snap, and everything would be more or less back to normal.

Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew the truth. He knew this wasn't a dream. This was all happening. It was worse than a nightmare.

It was reality.

"How...how did you do this?" That was all Rudy could manage to say after he forced himself to break his stunned silence. "How did you...connect us?"

Mr. Cosmo grinned at this. "I knew you'd be curious. But I'm afraid I cannot tell you." Rudy stared at him with a perplexed look. "You are smart enough to figure that out on your own. Perhaps a trip to ChalkZone will help?" He asked, his voice taunting. "That's right, you can't get there...not here, now can you?"

Ms. Saffron watched this and shook her head slowly. "Sir, why don't you get straight to the point? You can't leave the boy hanging, you know."

"True..you are right, Ms. Saffron. "Mr. Cosmo said as he got out of his seat. "I will rectify that now."

Rudy tensed up as the man approached him. The gap, slowly but surely, was closed. Rudy wanted to move. Oh how desperately he wanted to get away. But it was like his feet were glued to the floor. He couldn't make his muscles move. He was too petrified in fear to do anything.

The man stopped only a foot away from the boy. Rudy leaned back, giving a glare of determination at the man, but fear still shined through. And Mr. Cosmo saw it.

"I frighten you, don't I child? I can see the fear in your eyes." Cosmo said as he reached a hand out towards Rudy. Lightly, he brushed the back of his fingers down Rudy's left cheek. In response, Rudy jerked his head away. "But despite it all, you still have fight in you. Impressive. It's just a shame you are all alone here, boy. Maybe if you had one of your friends here, you would be a threat."

Upon hearing this, Rudy had a thought. A terrible one. It wasn't something he wanted to think about. He hoped it wasn't true. He pleaded with fate that it wasn't true. Anything but this... With how things were going for him lately, he wouldn't doubt that it happened. But there was still that chance he was wrong, right? Maybe he's just overreacting.

He would only find out through asking. And the man he wanted to direct the question to was standing right before him. Cosmo had gone silent. It was like he expected Rudy to ask him something. He just stared at the boy, his hands folded behind his back. He was quiet, saying and doing nothing.

"Did you...are you the one who..." Rudy tried to form a coherent sentence. His tongue twisted in itself, making him stumble upon his words. He finally got the words out, coming out as a low whisper, "Did you do something to Snap...?"

Mr. Cosmo just stared at Rudy. Seconds later, a wry smile spread across his face, but he remained silent.

That was all Rudy needed for him to have an idea on what happened. As it sank into his head, the old fear for Snap's safety came in, as well as a newfound anger for the man that may have been responsible for his disappearance. No, not may...this man practically confessed to it, and he didn't even need to say a word.

Rudy practically leapt for the man, gripping him by his shirt and pulling him forward. "What did you do to Snap?!"

Rudy only let go when Draow raced towards him, snapping his jaws at him in an attempt to protect his creator. Rudy took several steps back as Draow placed himself beside Cosmo like a faithful guard dog. He let out a continous low gutteral growl as his teal eyes pierced into Rudy's eyes. No words needed to be said for Rudy to understand Draow's message.

"You'll find out..." That was Cosmo's answer. "Got any more questions for me, Rudy?"

There was just one more. There was one more thing Rudy had to know.

"Why are you doing this...?"

Mr. Cosmo's response came almost immediately. "Because, Rudy, you have so much potential... But you haven't yet fulfilled that." His voice was cold as ice. "I am here to help you fulfill that potential. There is so much more you can be, Rudy. Believe me..." His eyes narrowed as he said that.

Rudy took a step back. What was this man talking about?


	13. I Will Not Be Like You, Cosmo

"What are..." Rudy stammered. "What are you trying to say...?"

There was one thing Rudy thought the man meant, and it sickened him to think about. How could Mr. Cosmo even think of such a thing, especially all that he had done? He'd have to be insane to think that... But then again, the man had already proven to be quite insane in the short time he spent trapped in this room.

Ms. Saffron, who rarely said a word in all this, was the one who replied. She had started walking towards Rudy and he didn't notice until she started to speak to him. "Kid, please..." Rudy swerved his head towards her. "Just listen to what he says. He has a great offer for you and I suggest you consider it."

Rudy took a step backwards. His eyes focused on Saffron. He still had no idea where she stood in all this, but she seemed like she was a loyal follower of Cosmo. And that was a good enough reason not to trust her.

"I am not interested in anything you two say." Rudy said to her. "You two kidnapped my friend. You hurt my parents."

"Well hurt is an exaggeration..." Ms. Saffron said.

Rudy ignored her. "And even after that, you still expect me to just sit down and take whatever offer you're going to hand me? Think again! There's nothing you can offer me that will make me turn a blind eye to what you did!" He turned his attention back on Cosmo. "What can you possibly offer me that would make it worth threatening those I care about?"

There was silence at first. Cosmo stared at him. His face was still blank. He didn't look angry or surprised. If Rudy didn't know better, Cosmo would have been a statue. If he had that thought, it would have been short lived as Cosmo turned his head to Saffron, who tapped him on the shoulder.

Ms. Saffron looked almost hesitant. She turned to look at Rudy briefly. Rudy wasn't sure what to make of her expression. It looked slightly worried, but there was a mix of something else...something he couldn't quite get. Then he thought he realized what it was.

Doubt.

A second glance, and this look in her eyes was gone, as well as the worry, as she turned her attention back to Mr. Cosmo. What replaced it was the same icy expression as the man had. Rudy was a little confused by what appeared to be mimicry. This made him wonder. Was she really one of the bad guys, or was she acting this way to impress Mr. Cosmo?

Perhaps, within time, he would find out.

Ms. Saffron spoke in a soft voice. "Are you going to tell him or just leave him hanging?"

"I will tell him..." Mr. Cosmo's smile returned. "That is why I brought him here, wasn't it?"

Rudy felt himself tense up as the pressure of suspense began to wrap around him. In a few seconds, he was about to find out just what this reporter wanted with him. The moments where Cosmo was silent were unnerving. He looked at the smile on the reporter's face, and understood what it meant. Cosmo took pleasure in drawing things out, to prolong the suspense and dread that gripped Rudy by his heart.

Mr. Cosmo stared at the 15 year old. Draow, who still stood next to him, had gone silent, but his eyes still bored into Rudy's. This time, they held a brand new message. Stay still or be attacked. Rudy gulped as the message was delivered via Draow's body language. He could see the legs were tensing up to get ready to dash towards him if he dared move away. Rudy's heart began to race as Mr. Cosmo took a step to close the gap between them.

The teenager couldn't hold back the shudder that shook his body as Mr. Cosmo placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping it gently. The smile was still there, relaxed and cool despite the seriousness and intensity of the situation. Rudy wanted to run away, but his legs were frozen in place. Draow's animalistic glare was not helping.

"As I said, Tabootie..."

Rudy winced as the man referred to him by last name. He didn't like the way he said it. It sounded almost...like a threat.

"You have a lot of potential. Yes, I foresee great things for you, but as you are, you will never achieve them. You're too blinded to see where your true path lies. But I guarantee you that once you accept this, and embrace it, the better off you will be. No longer would your talents go to waste. No, your talents hold much power, much promise." Mr. Cosmo said, holding out his hand and slowly forming a fist to emphasize his point. "I truly hate for you to continue to live your life without your full potential being realized, Tabootie..."

Rudy wanted so much to run away right then and there. He wanted to rush out of the room, find his parents, and go home. He wanted to call the police and report Cosmo's unusual behavior. Though it may not get him arrested, him trapping a person, young or old, against their will might be enough to get Cosmo off his back for good.

But in here, he had nowhere to go. He could try to run, but he wouldn't get far without Draow jumping on top of him and biting him with those jaws. And who knows what other traps lay in wait here? He had no choice but to stand there and listen to what the man had to say to him. From the sound of it so far, he wasn't liking where it was going.

"It might not seem like it, but I do like you. A lot, actually. You kinda remind me of myself when I was young. Of course," Mr. Cosmo chuckled. "I understood my use at a younger age, and took full advantage of it. But it's not too late for you to turn around and fix yourself."

Rudy swallowed, and asked in a frightened voice, "What are you suggesting?"

"I wish to help you..." The voice took on a more formal tone, as if he were speaking to a potential employee. "I don't think you understand your potential, Tabootie. You waste your talents on creating useless friends, prancing around as their 'hero'." His voice got a little darker as he kept talking. He leaned in closer to Rudy, locking eyes with him. "But you can be more than that. Oh so much more..."

Rudy's eyes widened. Was this man suggesting what he think he was? As the anger started to rise inside of him, now mixed with disgust and horror, he glared at Mr. Cosmo. "You want me to be like you?"

Mr. Cosmo gave a wry smile, this one more eerie-looking than the first one. "I want to take you under my wing, boy. I want to teach you what I know. I want you to fulfill your true potential. There's so much more you can be, so much more you can do. And I want to help you."

Despite the warning glare he was getting from Draow, Rudy slapped Cosmo's hand away and jerked back. He bared his teeth, grinding them together. "How dare you... I will never be like you...Never!"

Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow. "I see you have a misplaced sense of duty. Don't worry, I can fix that too..." Rudy took another step back, the glare intensifying. "I understand your hesitation. You don't know how to handle the truth. That is expected. Don't worry, I will make sure you understand in the end. Then you can do what I was not able to achieve. You are going to..." He paused for a moment. "..finish what I started..."

"What...?" Rudy asked, looking at the reporter in confusion. Any signs of anger were, at least momentarily, washed away, replaced with a look of confusion. Where was this man getting at? What did he start? How long ago? Where?

"I think you know the answer to that..."

Rudy glanced his eyes downward, his thoughts becoming intermixed with new ones. The way he said it, there had to be something Mr. Cosmo was trying to tell him without outright saying it. Rudy searched his thoughts, taking into consideration what the man said. There was something that was coming to the forefront of his thoughts, a thought so shocking, he didn't want to consider it.

But what else could there be? Nothing else seemed to fit into place. Nothing else really made sense. If...if this was true...then that would explain a lot. It wouldn't give all the answers Rudy wanted, but it would give him answers, albeit quite chilling ones. The implication weighed down on him like a heavy stone. It made the man's offer that much more terrifying. He didn't want it to be true. He begged in his mind that it wasn't true, that the man was lying.

Then..what if it was true? What if Mr. Cosmo was being quite honest in all this? Rudy knew that, if it were true, he was in trouble. And it wasn't just him...there was going to be quite a conundrum, one that would make his interactions with Vinnie and Terry seem like nothing more than child's play.

"You...you..." Rudy struggled to find his voice. "No it's not possible... you were..." A hard swallow. The man's smile broadened ever so slightly, as if he enjoyed the boy putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "You were...in ChalkZone before...?"

Mr. Cosmo didn't answer. He stared at Rudy before giving a grin. A low chuckle came out of his throat, sending chills down Rudy's spine. It wasn't a joking laugh either. It sounded quite serious...

"You're...you're lying..." Rudy whispered, taking a few more steps back. Draow was about to go after him, but he stopped when Cosmo blocked him with an arm. "You're just trying to trick me... I won't fall for it!" Rudy took a defensive stance. "I will not be like you..."

Mr. Cosmo said, "So I take it you are rejecting my offer... Such a shame. You really could have been something, boy. But maybe within time, you'll..."

"Shut up!" Rudy snapped. He surprised himself with how forceful he sounded.

"My, my..." Mr. Cosmo chuckled. "You really need to learn to control your temper, my child."

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "I am not going to let you play me for a fool any longer, Mr. Cosmo..."

"Oh no?" The tone in Cosmo's voice did little to hide the man's amused state. This was all a game to him, just a joke. "And just how are you going to accomplish that, my boy?" He turned his back to the boy and took a few steps away. "Do you think you can...stop me?"

"I will stop you!" Rudy declared, forgetting his previous shock. "I'll stop you!"

Mr. Cosmo gave him a sideways glance. "Is that so?" He didn't get a response from the 15 year old. "Such determination is very admirable, Rudy...That's part of what I like about you. I, too, was filled with confidence at your age. No, even younger than that..."

"Whatever your evil plan is..." Rudy hissed through clenched teeth. "I won't let you get away with it!"

Skrawl chortled from his tank. He had been watching the scene and had been largely silent. He stared at Rudy, or what he can make out of Rudy since Cosmo blocked part of his view, shaking his head slowly.

"Of course you would be such a stupid hero boy, Master Tabootie..." Skrawl said, glaring at Rudy. "I can see why I should work harder to destroy you... Even when you are at the disadvantage, you have a lot of fight in you. Such an annoying pest..."

Rudy retorted back, "At least I'm not trapped in a giant glass bowl!"

"Touche..." Skrawl said. He put his hand on the glass and moved it around, hoping to find a weak point. But he was no expert on glass. It all felt the same to him. He didn't even know how much force it would take to break this glass. "But you are too soft... If I were in your shoes, I would have..."

Draow dashed towards the glass container and kicked his foot against it. He let out a roar, causing Skrawl to recoil back, almost falling down. Draow began to scrape the glass lightly. The loud screech filled the container and forced Skrawl to press his hands against the sides of his head, trying to block out the sound. He led out a pitiful yell, filled with more distress than Rudy ever heard him unleash.

Rudy watched as Skrawl squirmed on the ground from the horrible sound. It didn't take long for the sound to reach new levels in pitch and now Rudy began to feel the pain Skrawl was in his ears. He fell to his knees, clamping his hands to his ears. The inside of his ears felt like they were being ripped open. Unable to hold it back, Rudy let out a cry of pain at about the same time as Skrawl did.

"Make it stop! Please!" Both Rudy and Skrawl shouted at the same time.

"That's enough, Draow." Mr. Cosmo snapped his fingers, calling back his beast. He smirked at Skrawl and Rudy. "You witnessed my creation's...talents. I knew making his claws emit a terrible noise when scratching glass would come in handy. Not sure what I was thinking when I first made him, but hey it all paid off in the end right?" He walked over to Rudy, knelt down, and gazed into the boy's green eyes. "You still have so much to learn, Rudy. If you knew half of what I do, you wouldn't be in this mess."

Rudy glared at him, clenching his jaws shut. He didn't want to hear anything more this man had to say. He wanted to get out of here. There had to be some place here he could use as a means of escape. Surely Mr. Cosmo had overlooked something, anything at all.

He would call Penny, but in here, it was too risky. The second he pulled out his phone, he wouldn't doubt Cosmo would snatch it from him, or Draow bite it from his hands, similar to what Boorat did with his magic chalk. He recalled he did sneak in a piece of magic chalk, hidden deep in his pocket. But what good would that do him right now? He didn't see any chalkboard around here.

He was at a loss of what to do. For one of the few times, he wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this. There was no way out. The way he had come in was blocked off by thick bars. He couldn't break them even if he were a buff fully grown man. There was no visible chalkboard he could use as a means of escaping into ChalkZone. Normally, he wouldn't consider ChalkZone as an option if adults were around. But if Cosmo already knew about ChalkZone, what would it matter? So long as he didn't have any magic chalk and so long as Rudy himself remembered to erase the portal...

...wait, did Cosmo have magic chalk? No, that was impossible. He couldn't have it. There was only one place to get magic chalk and Rudy very much doubted Biclops would let a shady man like Mr. Cosmo get any chalk. Biclops could easily take care of Draow; he was a giant after all, and among one of the strongest zoners he knows of.

But then...how did Draow get back into the real world? If Mr. Cosmo didn't create his own portal, how did Draow get out of ChalkZone? Rudy's head ached as he tried to think of a logical answer. The only thing that would make sense...is if Mr. Cosmo really had been in ChalkZone before. How...how was that possible...? Didn't Biclops say humans were banned from ChalkZone before Rudy himself came along? Cosmo would have been booted out before he got close enough to...

"Master Tabootie!" Skrawl's voice snapped Rudy out of his trance. When the jellybean saw he had Rudy's attention, he continued. "I saw a way out of here when they were bringing me in! Free me and I will take you there!"

Rudy looked at Skrawl suspiciously. "Why should I trust you?"

"Why should...look we're both in the same pickle together! As much as I hate to admit it, I do need your help! And I know you need mine! So let's continue this...truce thing...and let me out of here!" Skrawl yelled at him, pounding on the glass a couple times.

Cold laughter filled the room. Rudy turned to the source, which was Mr. Cosmo. "I would be quite interested in seeing you breaking him out of there. Go on child...just try." He took a step away from the boy, ushering Draow to move away as well. "Impress me."

Rudy paid no attention to Mr. Cosmo. His mind blocked him out so he could instead focus on looking at Skrawl. He still felt a little uneasy around the jellybean who had tried to kill him in the past. He knew that Skrawl was right. They were both in danger. And despite their hostility towards each other, Rudy and Skrawl had worked together effectively a couple times in the past. This shouldn't be any different.

And he couldn't just leave him there. He had to get Skrawl out of here and back into ChalkZone where he belonged. He couldn't allow him to be used like some inanimate object for whatever sick agenda Cosmo had. And he wasn't going to allow Mr. Cosmo to get into his head. Not anymore. There was no way he'd ever become like him. He would never abuse his power as a creator. He was a guardian, not a tyrant.

He wished he could do something for Snap. He wanted so much to confront Cosmo, back him into a corner, and force him to tell him where Snap was. But there's times for confrontation, and times for retreat. And right now was a time for retreat. He was at a disadvantage. Even with Skrawl on his side, Draow would be too much for them. And the traps that he was sure were hidden here, and Mr. Cosmo's deceptiveness... He needed help. And when he would get it, he will come back for Snap.

Rudy spotted something on the ground in the distance. It took him a few seconds to realize it was a hammer. He couldn't believe he didn't see it before. He looked over at Cosmo before he rushed for the hammer. As he grabbed it, he narrowly dodged Saffron diving for him. She missed and landed on the ground.

He rushed over to the glass tank, shouting for Skrawl to stand back. Rudy pulled back the hammer and slammed it against the glass. He pulled the hammer back for another blow when Draow swiped in his direction, missing the boy just by an inch. Rudy rammed the hammer against Draow's chest, causing him to fall onto his back. This wouldn't distract him for long. Rudy slammed the hammer in a couple more times as fast as he could.

There was a loud crack, then the glass shattered, leaving a large, jagged opening. Skrawl stepped out just in time for Draow to try to attack Rudy. Skrawl rammed into the beast before he could get too close to the boy. He grabbed Draow and threw him into the ground.

"Thanks Skrawl!" Rudy said as they started to run away.

"Don't waste your breath on manners, chalk boy! Run!" Skrawl said as he knocked Mr. Cosmo away. "That was for locking me up like some kind of wild animal!"

Mr. Cosmo's eyes narrowed dangerously as he watched the pair run down the hallways. He got himself up and brushed himself off. He looked over at Ms. Saffron and Draow. "Don't just stand there! Get them!"

Rudy and Skrawl ran down the hallway, rarely daring to look back and seeing the trio chase after them, Draow in the lead. Skrawl looked around, as if trying to remember the layout of the building, or at least the portion he had seen. Rudy let Skrawl be a little more in front and he watched the jellybean for any signs of which direction to go in.

The hallway was just about as dark as the room he was in. There were a few extra lights, but many were flickering, in need of changing. It was hard to see any doors. Usually the only hint of a door would be a tiny glint of the doorknob due to what little light there was reflecting off of it.

Rudy could have sworn he heard a sickening machine-like sound in these halls. The sound bounced off, echoingi n his ear. Skrawl didn't seem to react. Rudy didn't know if that meant he was just hearing things, or if Skrawl simply wasn't paying attention. Whatever the sound was, it was eerie and uncomfortable. All the more reason to get out of this twisted evil place.

"In here, chalk boy!"

Before Rudy could reply, he felt Skrawl's hand yank him to the right. The two of them entered what looked like a lab of some kind. A bunch of vials were placed on the desk, most empty, some filled with reds, blues, and greens. There was a chalkboard placed on the side of the room, covered with some formulas and equations.

"A chalkboard!" Rudy said, ecstatic. He looked over towards the open door, hearing Cosmo, Saffron, and Draow not far behind.

"Hurry!" Skrawl cried. He stood at the door, as if preparing to wrestle with the trio if they got too close. "Draw a portal! Now!"

Rudy quickly drew a portal on the chalkboard. He ushered Skrawl to come with him. The pair jumped through the portal. As soon as they were on the other side, Rudy made sure to remember to do the most important step, which was erase the portal. He grabbed the eraser and wiped the portal clean from the surface, completely destroying Mr. Cosmo's chance at getting at them.

Rudy and Skrawl landed on the chalky grass with a loud thud. Several zoners ran out of the way so they wouldn't get hit. They moved in a little close, surprised to see Rudy so close to his archenemy, Skrawl. They were equally surprised that they weren't fighting.

One of these zoners was Rapsheeba. She approached the two cautiously. "Rudy? What happened?"

"Don't ask." Skrawl said, sounding slightly disgusted. "I just hope I don't have to ask for hero boy's help again..." Skrawl didn't bother to give even a thank you to Rudy as he stormed off.

Rapsheeba stared as Skrawl disappeared into the distance. She looked back at Rudy. "What's up with him?"

"It's a long story, Rapsheeba." Rudy said as he picked himself up from the ground. "Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I have to find Penny and..."

"Hey Rudy, before you go, can I ask you a question?"

"Okay, what's your question?" Rudy asked.

"Have you seen Snap? He was supposed to show up for a date a couple hours ago. It's not like him to leave me hanging like that." Rapsheeba took a step towards Rudy. "I thought that maybe you saw him somewhere."

Rudy stared at Rapsheeba, silent.

"Rudy...?" Rapsheeba whispered. "What's wrong? Is Snap with you?"

Rudy grimaced at that question. He couldn't think of how to answer it. Closing his eyes, he looked away. That was all the answer Rapsheeba needed to see to understand what Rudy was saying.

"No..." Rapsheeba said, her eyes starting to glisten.


	14. That Boy Is Smart, But Not Enough

Ms. Saffron stopped in her tracks when she heard a familiar sound. Those machines...she shuddered at the sound of them. Her mind briefly forgetting about Rudy and Skrawl, she had to pause and think for a moment.

The machines had always made her feel uneasy. She never even seen them, yet they still filled her with dread. The whole time she worked here, down in this area of the building, she'd hear them come on every once in a while. She didn't know what it was. And that was frightening to her. Working here and not knowing what that sound was.

She had once tried to talk to Mr. Cosmo about it. But he refused to tell her. The only bit of information he'd give her was that it was something important he was working on. He told her not to worry about it and that it wasn't any of her concern. She had tried again to make him elaborate but with no luck.

She had been behind Draow and Cosmo, so they didn't notice when she stopped running. It wasn't like she was really needed. All she had to do was chase Rudy and Skrawl, and they ran right where Mr. Cosmo wanted them to. With a chalkboard inside, they would most certainly head back to ChalkZone. She wasn't entirely sure why Mr. Cosmo wanted them to do that. It didn't really make a lot of sense.

She knew there was a reason for it. As she saw the man walk out of the room with a smile on his face, it was clear things were going the way he wanted them to. It seemed counterintuitive to let the boy and the chalk monster to escape. Why hadn't he just forced Rudy to stay and tell him what he wanted to know? That wasn't something she would have liked to happen, but it made more sense to her than just letting him escape. If special chalk was needed to access ChalkZone...

There were pieces of the puzzle she was missing. She started to wonder, briefly, if Cosmo was purposely hiding details from her. Were there some things he didn't want her to know? Was there more to his plan than just simply exploring ChalkZone and making sure it was safe?

That is what she had been told this whole time. That he simply wanted to go to ChalkZone to help her observe it, see if it was truly dangerous or not. His methods were unorthodox, she admitted, but she had been told, in the long run, it was for a benevolent purpose. Understanding ChalkZone was top priority before she could give out any news of its existence. Understanding was key to making sure, should the two worlds collide, it would be easy to subdue ChalkZone in case of a deadly riot.

But some doubt emerged in her mind when she recalled the conversation Rudy had with Mr. Cosmo. The way Cosmo talked to the boy, it sounded a lot more threatening than it had to be. And the things he was implying didn't sound like mere observation and study like she had been told. Even Draow's behavior seemed off, though Mr. Cosmo stated that he had given Draow a guard dog-like personality to dismiss any feelings of doubt from her.

Nonetheless, Ms. Saffron still trusted Mr. Cosmo. Everything was happening the way he said it would. And any statement he made about ChalkZone had also been right. He had quite the intelligent mind and she appreciated that. She did feel safe preparing this exploration to the world of chalk with him.

She just hoped that the ends truly justify the means. She felt bad for helping trap Rudy. She had pleaded with Mr. Cosmo for another way. He insisted it had to be done that way in order for Rudy to, inadvertantly, open up the next step in the plan. He claimed he didn't like it himself, but the way he spoke to Rudy told a different story. She pushed that in the back of her mind. She would ask him about it later.

Mr. Cosmo walked down the hallway, Draow by his side. He still looked happy, satisfied. He stopped beside the woman and looked at her.

"He entered ChalkZone, didn't he?" Ms. Saffron asked, despite knowing what the answer would be.

"Yes, so he did." Mr. Cosmo confirmed with a nod of his head. "Just like I hoped he would. He is smart, heading for this room first. But...it's also his biggest blunder."

Ms. Saffron shook her head. "I still don't know why you wanted him to go back to ChalkZone."

"That is simple." Cosmo stroked the head of his wolf bat creatre. "It was to open up a gateway for us to use."

Ms. Saffron raised an eyebrow. A gateway? He expected Rudy to open up a gateway for him? She knew the boy would have erased the portal. He was smart, clever. Maybe not to the same degree as Mr. Cosmo. Still, if the portal was erased, how did this man think he was getting into this chalky place?

"But he erased the portal didn't he? I don't think he'd make the same mistake again and leave it open." Ms. Saffron asked.

The man gave a peculiar smile. The one that caused her to shudder, yet at the same time filled her with awe. It was the smile that indicated a lot of things. Plans going the right way, knowing something she didn't, a mischevious 'I can make things happen the way I want to' kind of look.

"Remember when I told the boy that he'd have a chance against me if he knew half of what I did?" Cosmo said slowly. Before Saffron could reply, he took the liberty to answer for her. "Of course you do. Let me explain..."

Mr. Cosmo gestured the woman to follow him. They headed back into the room, the one where Rudy and Skrawl had escaped into. The chalkboard looked the same as it did before, except a lot of the formulas and equations had been erased. Chalk dust covered the metal grooved platform and the ground, probably from the boy so hastily erasing.

Mr. Cosmo walked up to the chalkboard. He pressed his finger against the grooved platform and moved it along. He lifted up his finger and looked at the white dust that collected there. He gave a smile as he turned to Ms. Saffron and showed her.

"See this? Chalk dust." He said.

With a perplexed look, Ms. Saffron said, "Um..yes I can see that. What does that have to do with anything? It's chalk dust. Chalk leaves that behind. It's pretty much a given."

"But it's not any ordinary chalk dust." Mr. Cosmo grinned. He pressed his thumb against his finger and rubbed it back and forth. Particles of chalk fell towards the ground, barely noticeable in the dim light. "It's magic chalk."

Ms. Saffron almost scoffed at that. "Magic chalk? How can that white stick be magical? It's like any other..."

She stopped when Mr. Cosmo pressed his finger against the chalkboard and pulled his finger downwards. Very faintly, she saw a golden glow come from it. Mr. Cosmo pulled away and took a step to the side. He smiled at her shocked expression. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. A glow on the chalkboard? Was it real? Yes, it had to be real. She was wide awake.

She walked up to the chalkboard and placed her hand on it. The glow didn't seem to hurt. In fact, her fingers seemed to sink in a little. She pulled her hand away and looked over at Mr. Cosmo. Was this how he managed to get Draow in the real world? He never outright told her before. She knew there had to be some way, but she didn't imagine it would be something like this.

Mr. Cosmo wiped his palm across the faint glow, stopping it almost immediately. "That, Ms. Saffron, is magic chalk. It is the gateway key between our world...and theirs." He put his hand on Draow's head and gave it a few pats. "And because of this portal, anything from our world can get into ChalkZone, and the reverse is true." He shifted his gaze to Draow. "Including your own creations."

So that was how. Ms. Saffron didn't understand the mechanism of this whole thing. She doubted she ever would. Magic chalk still seemed quite farfetched to her, even when shown its powers right in front of her. It was clear there was something...otherworldly about this particular type of chalk.

Ms. Saffron tried to think of a rational explanation for it. But what was the use? She had a chalk creature standing before her. She had seen another in Skrawl. When chalk drawings came to life, seemingly with their own anatomy and every thing, even capable of speech, what was the point in rationality anymore? None of this was making sense. It was making her head hurt from thinking too hard about it.

She cleared her mind to focus on her next question. "With the portal gone, how do you propose you..."

"Already taken care of. See, you'd be amazed by how much I learned about ChalkZone. That boy must have been visiting that place for years, and still he doesn't know one quite amazing fact."

"And that would be?"

Mr. Cosmo smirked at her. "It is possible to create your own type of chalk, with its own abilities..."

Ms. Saffron took a step back. "You managed to...how?"

"It is pretty easy, but I won't elaborate on that. Let's just say I...had a little help." Mr. Cosmo replied. "The chalk that the boy had taken, it's the same kind he used while in the classroom. Tell me, did you ever wonder how Draow was able to use that portal to carry in...what was his name...Snap?"

Ms. Saffron was silent. She hadn't thought about that. During that time, her job had been to go to Tabootie's place and spray his chalkboard with a substance that made creating portals impossible. This would force Skrawl to stay put in the real world and they would then capture him during the night, which had been a complete success. What wasn't on her mind was how Draow got Snap in the real world.

"Explain..." Ms. Saffron managed to say.

"This magic chalk has an additional ability to it. It's permanent...well kind of. Water can still erase it permanently. But it wasn't like Tabootie was going to figure that out." A dark chuckle. "This magic chalk actually 'comes back' per say. The portals drawn with it, after erased, will come back, but only at about 10% opacity. This makes them practically invisible to everyone unless they took a very good look. Why at such low opacity? It gives us a sort of 'stealth entrance'. This will come in handy as we begin exploring more of this world..."

"But if you already know quite a bit...and I don't know how you do..." Ms. Saffron started. "Why do we still need to explore?"

"There's still things about the world of chalk that I am not aware of, Ms. Saffron. So exploration is still imperative. I know you still want to do that, so you can get an understanding of this place." Ms. Cosmo said.

Suddenly, something clicked in the back of Ms. Saffron's mind. "The connection between the boy and that jellybean creature...I know that was your doing but..did it have anything to do with that chalk?"

"Quite clever." Mr. Cosmo said with an amused tone. "That is correct. An old trick I knew would be useful at some point." He looked at the chalk dust on the board. "Yes, this chalk of mine is truly something. The only weakness it has is that it uses up faster. I guess it can't handle all that ability. Oh well, it serves its purpose just fine."

"Can the connection be undone...?" Ms. Saffron asked cautiously.

"It is...quite hard." Mr. Cosmo admitted. "That is why this chalk should be used with caution."

"Then why..."

Mr. Cosmo gave her a stern look. "When it comes to a world of chalk, you must think intelligently, differently. The way that world works is much different than ours. And so the rules of the world changes, so do the way plans are made."

Ms. Saffron thought about that. It did make sense. ChalkZone was a completely different place, much different than what she was used to. It would be understandable that things had to be handled differently. It brought about a sort of comfort to her, knowing that Mr. Cosmo had reasons for his actions. And they seemed to be intelligent ones at that. Nothing about it seemed truly malicious at the core, although she couldn't say she was entirely comfortable with them.

Then she thought about that plan. He never told her about it. Mr. Cosmo mentioned something about 'finishing what he started'. What had he meant by that? What was this true potential he talked about? Why did he think making friends in ChalkZone was meaningless?

Or maybe he didn't think that way. She could just be misinterpating him again. He seemed to be making it clear he does want to help her learn about this place. He had taken precautions to avoid as much fighting as possible. This thing that he started, it was probably just another exploration trip. He might have thought that getting too 'buddy buddy' with the locals would impede progress. And he may have deemed it meaningless to create friends and rescue people when studying and understanding ChalkZone could bring about a lot more results.

Yeah, that had to be it.

She wanted to ask for confirmation. She wanted to hear it from him. She held back, however. She didn't want to annoy Mr. Cosmo with too many questions. She didn't want to make it seem like she had little faith in him, which wasn't true. So, for now, she just nodded.

"Okay, sir." She said. "I understand."

Mr. Cosmo gave a small smile. "That is good to hear. Now..." He went over to a corner of the room. "Draow was able to bring this to me before the meeting with Rudy started. I am pretty sure it is still good." He pulled out a plate with what looked like a sandwich on it, and a glass of what could be juice but it looked...different. "Take this to our...guest."

Ms. Saffron grabbed the plate and glass. "What is this?"

"Chalk food. Take it to Snap." Mr. Cosmo said. "I don't want him dying on us."

"Can't he just eat and drink something here?" Ms. Saffron asked.

"That would kill him, Ms. Saffron." Mr. Cosmo said. "Maybe eat...but I am not taking the chance. And anything liquid here will dissolve him. Now take it to him. He is still of use to me."

Without another word, Ms. Saffron took the food and drink and headed down the halls.

sss

Ms. Saffron hated coming down here. The sounds of the machines were much louder. She couldn't tell exactly where they were, and even if she wanted to go there, she couldn't. Some passageways were sealed off with a code. Unless she knew what the code was, she couldn't enter. Mr. Cosmo assured her the codes were for security purposes. He thought that it would be best if only one of them knew the code to get in. It didn't make much sense to her, but perhaps he'll tell her the code in time.

The hallway she was walking in was dark and dank. A strong dirty smell filled the air. She flared her nostrils at it and turned her head away for a second. What an awful smell. This place hadn't been completely cleaned up when Mr. Cosmo started using it. Still it wasn't as bad as when they first started. It was amazing how much they managed to clean up in such a short amount of time.

She forgot what this place used to be. Most employees don't even come down here anymore. She didn't know how many of them even knew of this place. Where Rudy had been trapped wasn't entirely unknown. It was a storage kind of room where spare equipment was located. But this room, where she was walking in now, was more secluded. It wasn't even on the map.

It may have been the original basement and storage before a room above it was renovated to take its place. Mr. Cosmo thought it would be a perfect place to do his studies or whatever he did. There were multiple rooms, each of them converted into...she wasn't sure what they were actually. She didn't get a chance to look inside any of them.

Well except for one, but she wasn't sure if this was how the vast majority of the rooms were, or if it was just one special case. And that room was the one where Snap was being held.

It didn't take her long to reach his room. The door was locked. Nothing fancy. Just a simple lock and key mechanism. There was no code required for this. She balanced the food and drink with one arm as she brought out the small key and unlocked it.

She took in a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. She never truly interacted with a chalk being before. She kept her distance from Draow and Skrawl. This was the first time she'd be in a room, alone, with a chalk creature and she wasn't sure how she should act. What could she expect?

Ms. Saffron walked into the room. It was fairly small and plain. It wasn't too dark. The single light above did prove quite a bit of lumination. The floors and walls were very dry. Mr. Cosmo had spent some time making sure there was as little liquid in the room as possible, and if what he told her was right, she now understood why he had been so adamant about it. The room wasn't completely empty. There was a small bed. Not the best and it looked rather old, but it seemed to suit the occupant just fine.

Snap was laying on the bed with the dirty covers pulled over him. He was twitching in his sleep. He must be dreaming. Hmm, chalk creatures dream? She narrowed her eyes. They apparently also had nightmares. She could see a faint hint of a tear on the blue boy's face. She wondered if he was having a nightmare about Draow.

The wolf bat beast hadn't exactly been gentle with him, evident from the moment he brought him into the real world. Snap was covered in dirt and looked a little banged up. A bit of red clung to Draow's wing claw, not only disproving Mr. Cosmo's previous idea about chalk creatures having no blood, but also showed Draow had used a little too much force. Upon examination, she and Mr. Cosmo found that Draow had struck Snap in the back, cutting pretty deeply and ending at the back of his head.

Even in chalky form, it was horrific to look at. It made her feel some level of sympathy for him. She still wasn't sure what to think of him, but pain was something she definitely understood. Luckily, they were able to stop the bleeding and they were able to wrap bandages around it so the wounds would be protected.

Mr. Cosmo hadn't been happy with Draow and scolded him while she placed Snap in the room. But she wasn't sure if it was because he cared about Snap's well being, or if it was because of something else. The way he said 'of use to him'...did he see Snap as just a tool? Then again, did she see him the same way?

Snap started to stir more desperately on the bed. He was crying bouts of 'No' and 'Rudy', as well as other things, some too mumbled together for her to understand. She let out a soft sigh. She placed the food and drink on the ground and walked over to the bed. She wasn't sure why she was doing this. She didn't know him. She didn't know if he could even be considered real. But something drew her to him.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. "Hey, calm down. It's just a dream."

Snap, slowly, stopped shaking. Ms. Saffron was about to back off when the blue boy started to sit up in the bed. "Oy caloi...what a nightmare..." He said, rubbing the side of his head. "That is the last time I eat spicey honey before I go to bed. Talk about your weird dreams. Some big wolf with wings..."

He stopped talking when he took notice he wasn't in his usual room. Ms. Saffron noted the look of shock on his face, that soon delved into panic. He quickly stood on his foot when he saw her and took a defensive stance.

"Whoa!" Ms. Saffron said, biting her lip. "I'm not here to hurt you!"

"Where am I?" Snap demanded. He hunched over as he prepared to jump off the bed. He stopped when he felt a burning pain in his back. He let out a cry and fell back. "What happened to me? What did you do to me?"

Ms. Saffron felt her heart starting to race. She took a step back from the clearly angry and pained chalk person. Perhaps it was a mistake to wake him up from his nightmare.

"Who are you?" Snap said next when he got no answer. His voice still hissed with pain. "And where is Rudy?"

"I am...Ms. Saffron." She answered hesitantly. "Calm down and I will answer your questions.

Snap stared at her suspiciously. "Okay then, explain..."


	15. We Need Information

Snap wasn't sure where he was. Or how he got here. The last thing he recalled was dealing with Skrawl...no wait, it wasn't Skrawl he was fighting. It was some beast he was trying to control. Something that looked like a wolf but wasn't. Did it have bat-like wings? He recalled it did.

He remembered, after they seemingly defeated the creature, that Rudy had to leave. Hmm what was that reason? Something about the portal...yeah that was it. Rudy had to close the portal because he left it open. Snap wondered if he was partly to blame for that. After all, he did call Rudy's attention away to inform him about what Skrawl was doing.

He pushed that in the back of his mind. Right now, it wasn't important to think of whether or not he is responsible for the portal remaining open. Instead, he focused his mind on recalling what had happened afterwards. His mind felt muggy. He didn't want to believe he had amnesia...but what else could explain the gap in the memory? The last thing he remembered was Rudy running towards the portal and...

...wait, it was starting to come back to him. He had seen Draow getting onto his feet. He had seized Skrawl in his jaws and he was racing towards the portal. Snap had rushed over to try to stop the beast. He had grabbed onto the tail, but he wasn't able to slow him down at all. The beast had gotten fed up with his interference, and...

A pain shot through his back as he remembered what happened next. The beast, its wing talon sliced into his back. He remembered the scream he emitted. He remembered seeing Skrawl and Rudy forced through the portal together. Then, as he collapsed on the ground, moaning in pain, the last thing he remembered was the beast approaching him, jaws opening wide.

Snap would have thought the beast was going to finish him off. But now that he had woken up here, in this strange place, he knew he had to still be alive. He didn't feel the blood leaking from him anymore. This woman here, who was standing right before him, she may have had a hand in treating him. Could she have saved his life?

He scoffed at the idea. No, she couldn't be his rescuer. He was now clearly a prisoner. His mind was still coming back together. He may have only been awake a short time, but he wasn't stupid. Everything about this place felt like a jail to him. For all he knew, the beast worked for this woman.

Who was she? What did she want? Had she done something to Rudy? If she had, he was going to make sure she paid for it. No one messes with his pal and gets away with it.

Even though the woman had not made any threatening moves towards him, he still kept a defensive stance. He didn't know her and he didn't trust her. He would have seized the opportunity to escape. The door must still be unlocked. If he was fast enough, he could leave. Heck, his two dimensional powers would be handy right about now. But what if this place is rigged? Boobie trapped? As much as he wanted to leave, he couldn't; not unless he got a better understanding of the structure of this place.

And perhaps this woman would be the ticket to that. Maybe she had some kind of map on her. He could use that to figure out where traps and survellience cameras were, and he could avoid them. Being able to flatten himself and go over walls would make getting out a lot easier.

After the woman said she would answer his questions, his mind struggled with just what question he should ask. There were so many he wanted to know. It was hard to choose.

When he finally thought of one, he said, "Where am I?"

The woman, who had said her name was Ms. Saffron, said, "The location is a secret. I will say you are still in Plainsville, however. You are in one of the lowest levels of this building. This place used to be abandoned until my...partner I guess you can call him that, 'revived' it to serve a new purpose."

"And what purpose might that be?" Snap asked.

"I cannot tell you that." Came Saffron's reply.

"You can't tell me, huh? Sheesh..." Snap rolled his eyes, though it was hard to tell when he had no pupils. "I take it you must not be in charge then. Otherwise, you'd know this place like the back of your head."

"It's palm. Back of your palm." Saffron corrected him.

"Yeah, whatever." Snap waved a dismissing hand at her. "And, uh, do you mind telling me why I am here? Do you and your boss think I'm some kinda weird alien..." At this, Snap put his hands on the side of his face and used his thumbs to try to mimic antennas. "..and you want to do probing experiments on me and make me tell you where my leader is, right?"

"Well no." Ms. Saffron said, rubbing the back of her head. "We...kinda already know what you are. Alien might be a bit of a stretch. I think the best phrase would be...dimensional hopper."

Snap raised an eyebrow. "Well aren't you clever. And can you guess my name?"

"It's Snap, isn't it? One of those chalk creatures..." Ms. Saffron said.

Snap stared at her in shock. How did this woman, whom never met him before, knew his name, and the fact that he was made of chalk dust? There was only one way she could have known, and that was if Rudy or Penny told her. Or if she overheard them. With Rudy on his mind now, he knew what his next question was going to be.

Snap tried to keep his composure. Despite this woman knowing his name, he didn't want to show her that her that he was shaken up. He wanted to remaim calm and viglant. Unnerving him may have been her goal. Well, she failed at that.

"What have you done to Rudy?" Snap hadn't meant for that question to sound so forceful. Still, given what little knowledge that he has of what was going on, it was better to be on the safe side.

"He was here. On the upper level." Ms. Saffron said. She bit her lip, as of contemplating if she was telling him too much. Luckily for Snap, she continued. "He had fallen into a trap set up for him. Mr. Cosmo, my partner per say...he had tried to convince Rudy to be his..prestige I suppose. He refused."

"Naturally!" Snap folded his arms and smiled. "He would never join forces with someone like him! Imagine, being trapped against your will..." Snap's voice trailed off. He realized that was the situation he was in. His eyes narrowed. "Why am I here...?"

"Just like Rudy, Mr. Cosmo sees potential use in you." Ms. Saffron said.

"So I'm just some tool to him?" Snap growled at the thought of that. He wasn't someone's plaything. When Saffron didn't answer, he pressed on with another question. "And what happened to Rudy?"

Saffron said, "He escaped."

Snap grinned at this. Finally a bit of good news in all this mess. He jumped to his feet and pointed his..fist...at the woman. "Hah! Looks like your plan has been delayed! Just what you wait, Rudy will come back for me, and will stop you...whatever your evil plan is..."

Ms. Saffron tilted her head. "Evil plan? I never said we were doing anything malicious...okay.." She hung her head. "Perhaps capturing you wasn't the nicest thing. But I swear, all we want to do is explore ChalkZone and learn about it. We don't intend any true harm."

Snap shook his head. There was something about that woman's tone of voice, like she was hiding something. "Do you really believe that?"

"Well I..." Ms. Saffron looked confused. She turned her head away, staring blankly at the closed door. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she looked back at Snap. "I don't know why I'm having this conversation with you. I don't even know if you are real..." With that, she got up and headed towards the door.

"Not real? I'm not real?!" Snap yapped at her, waving his hands about in disbelief. "Oh I'm real all right! I'm just as physically present as you are! Yes, I'm made of chalk, but that doesn't mean I'm not as much alive as any human in this world!"

Ms. Saffron paused for a moment. "You better eat your food."

Snap looked down at the food on the ground. He hadn't noticed it until now. "Why would you even bother feeding me, if you didn't think I was real?"

"Because Mr. Cosmo wants you alive." Ms. Saffron said. "Rudy may have escaped, but that is exactly what Mr. Cosmo wanted him to do. It flows right into his plan."

"What...?" Snap asked quizzically.

Ms. Saffron sighed, standing in the door way now. She gave Snap a sideways glance. "Let's just say he...has other means of convincing Rudy to join him..."

As she left, Snap rushed to the door. He slammed against the hard surface and fell back. He would have stood up and pounded on the door if it weren't for the horrible pain that plagued him now. He struggled to get up, groaning in pain as he did so. He tilted his head up towards the door and called out for the woman.

"Ms. Saffron! Wait! Come back! What did you mean by 'he has other ways of convincing Rudy'? What is he going to do?!"

But there was no reply.

Snap sighed and turned around. He stared at the sandwich and drink. He was feeling a little hungry and thirsty. He licked his lips. He knew it may not have been the best idea. But his stomach was dominating over his brain. He walked over, picked up the sandwich, and started to eat.

"Rudy." He said between bites. He glanced hopefully at the door. "I hope you will find me, bucko. And I hope you will teach these jerks a lesson."

sss

Rudy held the spoon in his hands, poking at the cereal in front of him. He didn't really feel much like eating right now. He could feel his stomach growling, but with all that went on yesterday, he couldn't bring himself to eat anything. Yesterday was just horrible. He couldn't believe just how bad it was. He wished he could have done something, yet...what could he have done?

It was heartwrenching for him to go through another night without knowing how Snap was. His initial plan yesterday was, after he and Skrawl escaped, he would find Penny, who would have gotten the new small chalkboard, and they'd get back into ChalkZone. He would explain to her what happened and where the building was, and then they could go to the location in ChalkZone, where he and Skrawl fled, and sneak inside to find Snap.

It was a risky plan. They could get caught. He didn't know how protected the building was. But he couldn't think of anything else. There was the option of going to the police. That was still in his mind. But now the police won't believe him. When he saw his parents for the first time since the incident, he found that they didn't remember anything that happened. Mr. Cosmo must have done something to them to make them forget. He might have foreseen him calling the police and did something about it.

It would be harder for the police to believe a 15 year old if his parents don't know what he's talking about. Although he was happy that his parents were safe and sound, he couldn't help but feel some disappointment. If his parents remembered what Mr. Cosmo did, they could back him up and have Mr. Cosmo arrested. But all he had now were his own words, and that wasn't going to be enough to convince the police of anything.

His plans were delayed, unfortunately. Penny told him that, while she was able to get the portable chalkboard, she wasn't able to come back over with it. Her dad wanted to continue reconnecting with his daughter and insisted they go to a fair. And when she came back to her home, her mother wanted her to stay inside. He forgot the details why, something about her wanting Penny to learn how to cook a special family recipe or something.

Rudy made a promise to himself that last night would be the last night he'd go without saving Snap. Penny had called in the morning and said she'd be over as soon as possible. When Rudy's parents asked what they were doing, he said it was some project for school. And as usual, his parents bought it.

When Penny would arrive, he and her would head straight into ChalkZone and go from there. He did realize how hasty it was to just go into Mr. Cosmo's...lair for a lack of a better term, but something had to be done and fast. So long as they were quiet and careful, they might be able to at least get a map of the place. And then they...

...oh who was he kidding? This plan stunk. It was still the only option he could think of, but it was full of high risks and dangers. He didn't fully understand Mr. Cosmo's capabilities. He didn't have a fullproof plan. So much could go wrong. And what of Draow? If that thing found him and Penny... He wondered what Mr. Cosmo would do with Penny. Would he use her to get to him? He shuddered at the thought. Or would he do much worse? Was Mr. Cosmo the type of person to...kill...?

No, he wouldn't kill Penny. There would be too much at stake. He'd end up going to jail for certain. People showed less mercy to someone killing a much younger person than they did with killing someone of the same age or almost equal. Mr. Cosmo wouldn't want to go to jail, so he was certain the man would refrain from killing Penny, or anyone he cared about.

Still, the thought plagued his mind. He knew so little about Cosmo. If he had a better idea of his psyche...

"Rudy, your friend is here!" Mrs. Tabootie said in her sing-along voice.

Rudy got out of the kitchen and saw his mother standing by the door. Mrs. Tabootie stepped aside, allowing Penny to walk in. She was carrying a large burlap bag with her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Tabootie." Penny said politely. She looked at Rudy. "And hello, Rudy. Are you ready to get started on our project?" She gave a knowing wink.

Rudy wanted to smile back. But the only one he could manage was a half-hearted forced one, to keep his parents from wondering what was wrong with him. He already talked quite a bit with them earlier when he wouldn't eat his breakfast. It was hard enough explaining what was wrong without revealing too much. He didn't want to deal with that again. Not now.

They went up into Rudy's bedroom and shut the door. They went over and sat on his bed. Penny opened up her burlap bag and pulled out the small portal. It was a little smaller than the one he had, before it was essentially broken, but they'd still be able to squeeze through.

"Do you have a plan, Rudy?" Penny asked.

Rudy looked at her. "I told you already. We're going to go..."

"Yes I know that. But have you thought it out?" Rudy bit his lip. It was like Penny was reading his mind. "What happens if this Mr. Cosmo guy catches us? What then?"

"I...I just don't know what else to do, Penny." Rudy looked away. He glanced at the ground. "It's all my fault...I should never have left Snap behind. If I had kept an eye on him..."

Penny put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it. You couldn't have known." She said in a calm voice. "I know how dire this situation is. I was quite afraid, too, when you called last night and told me what happened. I felt guilty at the time."

Rudy looked at her. "You did?"

She nodded. "Yes. I thought that I should have come with you, that maybe me being there would have made a difference. But nothing will change happened, Rudy. We shouldn't spend so much time with 'what ifs'. We should focus on a plan to rescue Snap."

Rudy knew she was right. He couldn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. He couldn't do nothing while his confusing thoughts distracted him. He had to remain focused. The longer he waited to do something, the longer Snap was in danger. He didn't even know if Snap was being fed or not. In which case, they had even less time if he wasn't. They had to get moving.

The only thing holding him back was the fact that he didn't know enough about Cosmo to formulate a well thought out plan. Yes, he was a reporter, but that didn't really say much. He didn't know exactly how his mind worked. And no doubt he must have laid traps. Initially he wasn't sure if he would boobie trap his building, but reminding himself of last night, yeah he would be the kind of person to do that. He'd need more information on this guy. He wanted something, anything, to help him find a way to rescue Snap. Even the tiniest clue would be great.

"Hey Rudy?" Penny asked. "Did you tell me Mr. Cosmo was in ChalkZone?"

Rudy nodded. "Well he didn't exactly say it...but he sure made it sound that way."

"Well if he was, maybe we can talk to Biclops about him. He's quite observant of ChalkZone. He'd easily notice another human coming into ChalkZone." Penny suggested.

"Yeah, but the other zoners would notice, too. Wouldn't it be just as effective to ask any of them?" Rudy asked, confused.

"Biclops would be the best zoner to go to first." She explained. "We don't even know how long ago Mr. Cosmo was in ChalkZone, if he was at all. It could have been years, Rudy. It would be best to go to a zoner who had been in ChalkZone for a long time. And who better than Biclops? He can even show us what happened, if Cosmo had been to ChalkZone before."

"Hmm, you're right, Penny!" Rudy smiled with determination.

Penny did make a valid point. Biclops was in ChalkZone for a long time, well before he knew about it, and well before Snap was 'born'. If there was any zoner who would definitley know if Cosmo had been to ChalkZone, Biclops would be the one. And Penny was also right about being shown what happened. Biclops's ability to show video footage in his eyes, showing the past, meant that he and Penny would be able to see exactly what went down. They could get an even better idea on what this guy was capable of.

Rudy drew a portal on the portable chalkboard. He made sure to make it as big as possible. He then set the chalkboard on the ground. Before he did anything else, he made sure to leave his parents a note so they wouldn't freak out when they saw him gone.

Knowing time was of the essence, they both slipped into ChalkZone through the somewhat small portal as fast as they could. Rudy took care of erasing the portal immediately.

As they turned to begin walking to the Chalk Mine, as luck would have it, Biclops was nearby. It looked like he was doing one of his jogs through ChalkZone. It was incredibly convenient that he happened to be there when he was. They immediately rushed over to him.

"Hey Biclops!" Rudy called out.

Biclops stopped moving forward, now jogging in place. He looked down at Rudy and Penny and waved at them. "Hello, Rudy and Penny! How are you doing?"

"We have a question to ask you." Penny said.

Biclops sensed the nervousness in her voice. "Well sure...what's wrong?" He turned to Rudy. "Did something happen?"

"Well you can say that..." Rudy said slowly. "Uh...Biclops? You wouldn't...happen to know someone named...Mr. Cosmo do you?"

Biclop's eyes went so wide that they looked almost like they would roll out of his head. "D-Did you say...Cosmo...?" The two teens nodded as a reply, causing the giant to gasp.

Rudy and Penny had never seen anyone's face turn as sheet white as fast as Biclops's did just then.


	16. Cosmo Had Done What?

The reaction Biclops had was of no comfort to Rudy and Penny. It was like a double edged sword to them. On the one hand, it was nice that he knew Cosmo, because that meant that he could tell them more about him and perhaps even a way to beat him. But on the other, the way he so negatively reacted to the name, told them a horrible truth: Mr. Cosmo must have done something terrible to scare Biclops that much.

Just what had this man done? Had he tried to kill some zoners? Did he destroy entire sections? Rudy only had a glimpse of what this man was capable of doing. And if he read Biclops's reaction correctly, that was just the tip of the iceberg. The man's cruelty must lie much deeper than that.

Rudy felt a strong sense of urgency rise up in him. Knowing that Cosmo, already dangerous, was even a bigger threat than he imagined made him wish he could find Snap sooner. He hoped that he was all right. He hoped that he will still be there when he was able to come to his rescue. He made a promise to himself that, after he saved Snap, he'd make Cosmo pay for what he did. Rudy usually didn't like holding onto grudges for very long, but for Mr. Cosmo, he was willing to make an exception.

He looked over at Penny. The expression she gave him told him that she felt the same way. Like Rudy, she was also scared by how Biclops reacted, and also showed some hidden anger, which Rudy guessed was most likely from thinking about what Mr. Cosmo may do to Snap, or any other zoner that was unfortunate enough to fall into his grasp. She then gave a nod, and he knew what she was indicating.

Rudy looked up at Biclops, swallowing nervously. This seemed like a painful subject for the giant. He felt bad for asking questions on this, but for Snap's sake, and perhaps the sake of ChalkZone, he needed to ask. He had to know.

"Was Mr. Cosmo..here before?" Rudy asked tentatively.

Biclops stared at him for a moment, still overcoming the initial shock. "Y-Yeah he was...many years ago." Biclops took a step towards the pair and pointed a finger close to Rudy. "It was before you ever came to ChalkZone. Cosmo was just a kid at the time...but age doesn't always mean something, and he certainly proved that."

"A kid?" Rudy inquired. "Around my age when I first came to ChalkZone, you mean?"

"Or perhaps a year older. I don't know. It's hard for me to remember exactly how old he was." Biclops said, scratching the top of his head. Then he made a gesture with his large hands. "What I do remember is that he did some terrible things in ChalkZone."

Penny decided to ask a question. "What exactly did he do, Biclops?"

Biclops winced and slowly shook his head. "I'd...rather not talk about it. I will say this, though. So vile were his actions against ChalkZone that he was kicked out as soon as possible."

"I hope the damage wasn't too bad..." Penny said sympathetically.

"Nah. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. A lot of damage, but nothing that couldn't be repaired in time." Biclops said.

Rudy thought about this. If Mr. Cosmo had been here as a kid, then why had he never come back? Yeah, he was kicked out, but he may have tried to find another way in. He seemed like he was clever. Too clever actually. He didn't think that he would go down that easily. There had to be some reason why he didn't try to do anything regarding ChalkZone until now.

"Hey, Biclops?" Rudy asked.

Biclops turned his attention to the boy. "What is it, Rudy?"

"Do you know why Cosmo would wait all this time to make another move?" Rudy asked, confusion painting his voice. "I mean, he had all this time...why would he wait until now to..."

"Because he forgot. Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen." Biclops replied, cutting off Rudy. "You see, for really dangerous artists, I used to have a magical zoner cast a spell on them to make them forget about ChalkZone. They fall asleep and they are taken back into the human world unharmed. It had been effective...or so I thought."

"Maybe something triggered his memory?" Penny suggested. "Maybe seeing something from ChalkZone..."

Rudy suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Something that he had pushed in the back of his mind had resurfaced. There was a time, a couple weeks ago, when he, Penny, and Snap were in the classroom together. Mr. Wilter was gone and they had some time to chat with their friend. During this time, there was a camera malfunction, so they weren't being watched.

During the chat, Rudy could have sworn he heard a click. It was faint, barely noticeable. Penny and Snap didn't react to it. He did turn his head seconds after the sound. He saw no one. At the time, he just dismissed it and went on chatting with the other two.

Part of him had nagged at himself to bring it up, to not just discard it as nothing. Yet that is exactly what he had done. He didn't think it was anything to worry about. There was nothing in the newspapers after that. There was no 'Chalk World Exposed' headline. None of that. He thought about bringing it up with Penny and Snap, but seeing how they didn't react to this 'phantom click', he changed his mind.

Now he wished that he had said something earlier. If he did, they could have seen this trouble coming earlier and they could have done something about it. Rudy felt so foolish and stupid. He couldn't believe he thought that click was nothing. It had to have been Saffron or Cosmo, or someone else, who took that picture, and Mr. Cosmo saw it and... Oh what had he done...?

"Rudy...?" Penny took notice of Rudy's change in composure. "What's wrong?"

Rudy snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her for a moment. He looked away. He wasn't sure how to tell her, or if he should tell her. There was so much going on, was it really important to know about that picture?

"Nothing, Penny." Rudy said, giving the best smile he could.

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure, Rudy? You were really spacing out there..."

Rudy nodded his head quickly. "Yeah...I was just...waiting to see if Biclops had anything else to say."

"Well okay..." Penny didn't look convinced. Nonetheless, she looked up at Biclops, dropping the subject. "Biclops? If you don't want to talk about what Cosmo did as a kid here, would you mind...showing us? Please, we need to know what we are up against..."

Biclops looked hesitant. If what Cosmo did was truly that horrible, then it was understandable that he would be wary about the subject. Rudy wondered if Cosmo had done something to hurt the giant. Biclops's grimace seemed to well support that. Or maybe he hurt someone Biclops really cared about. So many thoughts invaded Rudy's mind about what could have happened.

Penny seemed to have the same thoughts as he did. She went up to Biclops and looked at him with great sympathy. "I know he must have done terrible things. And I'm sorry if this reopens old wounds. But if you don't tell us what happened, many more people could be hurt by him. Snap is already being held prisoner and I don't think he will stop there."

Biclops's eyes went wide. "Cosmo...captured your friend, Snap?"

Rudy gave a grim nod. "He didn't say it exactly, but he pretty much confessed it. I don't know if he hurt Snap and how badly..." He closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were forming. "So please...can you...can you reveal more about this Cosmo guy? The more we know about this evil man...the easier it will be to save Snap. Please, Biclops...I don't know how long he has..."

Penny put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He gazed at her and gave a small smile. He turned his attention to Biclops. The giant looked at him with a clearly empathic look. There was also shock mixed in there. The giant hadn't known it was Cosmo who had taken Snap until he said something. When Rudy and Skrawl returned to ChalkZone, he had been too distraught to even mention Cosmo's name to the zoners. He wished he had. Not knowing was worse than knowing.

Biclops opened his mouth, then shut it. He looked to the side, rubbing his head again. He looked back at Rudy and Penny. He winced at the looks they were giving him. It was clear they really wanted to know. It was obvious they were both in distress with what happened to Snap. Rudy understood Biclops would understand that many more zoners could end up like Snap, or worse, if something wasn't done and fast.

The giant finally spoke. "...O-okay then...I will show you. I'll give you a glimpse of what this guy had done. I...cannot guarantee it'll reveal anything that will help you, though."

With that, Biclops lowered his head down. He tugged at the hair at his sides, which somehow activated the television-esque visions in his larger lower eye. Rudy never understood this, but didn't question it either. The static in Biclops's bottom eye soon gave way and a picture came in crystal clear. Rudy and Penny could see what was clearly ChalkZone. As the images played, Biclops grimly narrated.

"Long before you came to ChalkZone, there was a time when creators were allowed to come to ChalkZone. The relationship between creator and creation was harmonious, much like how you and your creations, Rudy. Well...most of them."

Several images of children with their creations played. There was a little girl playing with a large bunny rabbit with wings. Another kid was playing hopscotch with a sentient rope he had created. Some kids were having tea parties. Others were playing basketball, soccer, whatever with their, and others', creations. Rudy and Penny were amazed by how many kind artists there had been in the past.

This happy scenery didn't last forever. Soon, the video started to grow dark and everyone in the video began to look scared, frightened by something off screen.

"That all changed when he showed up..."

It was revealed the kids and their creations were looking at a kid standing on a hill. He wore a green outfit and had red hair. Rudy knew this had to have been Cosmo as a kid. There was something about him that seemed familiar, though. And it wasn't the fact that he knew who it was. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he had seen this particular kid somewhere before.

The kid, despite his young age, looked absolutely monstrous, with a wild grin and wielding a piece of magic chalk. Unlike Rudy's, which was white, this chalk was black. Despite its dark color, it still glinted like any other magic chalk.

"This kid was who you know as Mr. Cosmo. Even though he was young, he already had the mind of an evil genius. His appearance marked the end of the peaceful relationship that creators and their creations once had. He had found the dreaded black chalk, which existed before red chalk. It is more dangerous because, while drawings made by black chalk aren't automatically evil, it causes whoever uses it to become, more or less, a monster."

Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at what they saw next. The scene flickered to show several black chalk drawings destroying parts of ChalkZone. But there was something different about it. The attacks were not only more coordinated than they'd expect with red chalk, but Cosmo was clearly commandeering it all. He was pointing at different things and yelling out an order to attack.

Most of the creators were clearly defeated, laying on the ground injured. Their creations tried to defend them, but Cosmo coldly had them erased. The screams that emitted as the creations were destroyed rang in Rudy and Penny's ears. They wanted to look away from the horrible sight, but their eyes were glued to the 'screen'.

"So much of ChalkZone was destroyed. By just one creator. I admit, Rudy...Mr. Cosmo was the reason I didn't trust you at first. I thought you would turn out just like him..."

Rudy winced as he saw the young. Mr. Cosmo flinging a small chalk cat around by its tail and threw it aside. And in another scene, Mr. Cosmo stomped on the face of a stick figure drawing. The amount of cruelty he displayed even at this age was incredible. Now Rudy understood the real reason Biclops had been so aggressive to him when they first met. After seeing this, he couldn't blame the giant for being protective of ChalkZone.

"Most of the good creators were chased away. They never returned. We don't know what became of them after they left. What we do know is that some of the creators that were once good...had become bad. Cosmo had convinced them to use black chalk. With how innocent they once were, it didn't take long for the black chalk to corrupt them. Even when they used other chalk, their violent behavior now became dominant."

The girl who had once been kind to her rabbit bird creation was now kicking it aside as she drew something more vicious. The boy who played jump rope was cruelly tying the sentient rope in a knot and throwing it aside as he got out black chalk and drew, along with other kids, large monsters.

Rudy's eyes widened. These monsters, some with orange outlines, some blue, some green, he swore he recognized as well. The familiarity did nothing to cushion the shocking and harsh blow he got as he saw the monsters wreak havoc on ChalkZone. Buildings were crushed. Zoners whipped around like toys. The ground torn apart.

"Luckily, there was one creator who did not become corrupted."

Rudy and Penny saw a young boy on the back of a large pterosaur, coming in to do battle against Cosmo, it looked like. The boy wore a red shirt and had brown hair. He also looked familiar, but neither of them could guess what it was.

The young boy's pterosaur tossed several of the evil creations into the ground. The boy jumped off. As his pterosaur fought off the monsters, he did battle against Cosmo. The two engaged in a chalk battle. Rudy and Penny were amazed at how fast and how many weapons these two drew and how skilled they were in battle. It was also unsettling. They could see such a dangerous battle between two adults. But two kids?

"This creator did manage to defeat Cosmo. With his help, Cosmo was drained of his memories and tossed out of ChalkZone. All his drawings were contained, never to hurt anyone again."

Cosmo was seen being dragged off by angry zoners while the brown-haired kid stood triumphant. The evil drawings were rounded up by some big zoners and taken off in one direction, likely to a prison where they can never hurt anyone again.

Then something happened that the teenagers weren't expecting. Some zoners surrounded the brown-haired kid, the one who saved them, but the looks on their faces suggested they weren't celebrating his accomplishments. It looked as if they wanted him gone too.

"Unfortunately, the incident had caused a rift to form and much of ChalkZone decided it was best for creators to stay out of ChalkZone. I know it sounds extreme, and yes the citizens were grateful this boy saved them. He helped them out in the past as well. He was...a lot like you, Rudy Tabootie. However, they were worried that another Evil Creator incident could occur, so it was thought it best to cut off connection to the real world."

"Wow..." Penny said in horrified awe. "I..didn't realize he..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

Rudy was just as disgusted. He knew that some creators abused the chalk, but he had no idea there was such a catastrophic event caused by one child. He didn't know that the reason why creators were largely banned from ChalkZone, even outright forbidden to know about ChalkZone, was because of the actions of one heinous child.

It sickened him. How could anyone be that cruel and heartless? What made Cosmo think it was a good idea to destroy a relationship that had once been good, even celebrated? Knowing what this monster did as a kid made him hate the man that much more.

Biclops's eyes went back to normal. He stood up straight slowly. "Now that his memory is slowly returning, now that he is much older, who knows what he is capable of doing now. He was hard enough to deal with as a little kid. As an adult, he's probably twice as dangerous, if not thrice."

"What do you think he'd do to Snap?" Rudy said in a quiet voice.

Biclops winced at this question. "Nothing good, I'll tell you that. You'll have to rescue him as soon as you can. I wish I could help and go with you, but I'd be too noticeable."

"We also need to figure out how to disconnect Rudy from Skrawl." Penny said. The giant looked at her, perplexed. "From what Rudy told me, Mr. Cosmo had done something so that Rudy and Skrawl felt each other's pain."

Biclops let out a gasp. "I thought all that chalk had disappeared..."

"What?" Rudy asked. "What do you know about this chalk? Is there any way to severe this connection I have with Skrawl?"

Biclops nodded nervously. "Y-Yes... This chalk has no name, but it was discovered sometime after Cosmo was banned. Many believe he created it. I'm not sure if he did. What I do know is that the only way to correct it is with another piece of chalk that is just as rare."

"Really?" Rudy said, giving a smile. "Well can you give us a piece?"

"Well..." Biclops didn't look very happy.

Rudy's smile faltered. "What? What is it?"

"Does this chalk...not exist anymore?" Penny asked worriedly.

"No it's not that. I still have a small stash of it locked away." Biclops said. "It's just that.." He let out a sigh. "Rudy Tabootie, the only cure for this is..."

The silence was unnerving. When the giant spoke, the two teens couldn't suppress their gasp of horror.

"...the black chalk..."

sss

Ms. Saffron couldn't believe she was sent back down here. She had given the blue boy some food a few hours ago. He'd be fine for a while longer. It wasn't like he was going to curl up and die if he didn't get food right now.

Wait, could he die? To die would mean to be alive, and to be alive would mean to be real. Could Snap really be considered something that was alive? Yeah, he breathed. Yeah, he bled. But that meant nothing to her. He was a creation, made by that Tabootie kid. He could have just been created to seem realistic. But in the end, he was just about as 'real' to her as ghosts playing jump rope on top of a rainbow were, in her mind.

She was still able to feel sympathy for him, like how he grimaced in pain at his wound. She could still converse with him like any human being. He didn't sound like he was faking his emotions at all. And she was able to get angry or upset at some things he said.

But in the end, she wondered if it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Maybe she just wanted to believe he was real. There was certainly a part of her that wanted to sympathize with the blue boy and perhaps convince Mr. Cosmo to let him go. She wanted to dismiss that part of her as her imagination getting the best of her. But what if her initial thoughts of chalk-based entities not being alive was wrong?

When she gave Snap the second course, he dove in more quickly than she imagined. Had he really been this hungry, or was he just being dramatic to make her think he was truly starving? Whatever it was, she couldn't hide the reality of the blue superhero wolfing down the pasta she had brought him.

"You know...that was pretty good." Snap said. From the tone, it sounded forceful, almost like it hurt him to compliment the woman who was helping to keep him locked up.

Rather than thank him for the compliment, Saffron went on another subject. "I...uh..notice the red marks on your hand..."

"What? You mean these?" Snap lifted up his hand and turned it over, showing three long, though shallow, cuts. Saffron nodded her head once. "I tried to sneak out. I knew at the time it wasn't going to be a smart move. But I wanted to try. I just had to get out of here, you know?" The way he spoke was almost casual, as if this was a usual thing for him to talk about. "I tried to use my two dimensional powers to get under the door. I only managed to get my hand here half way over when it cut on something sharp...Let's just say I will never try that again."

This didn't surprise Ms. Saffron. She gave a nod of understanding to the blue boy, but made no remark on the sharp things Mr. Cosmo placed there. He knew Snap would try to escape, so he had set up a trap for him there just in case he did. It seemed to work really well. Painfully well. Luckily it was just a few scrapes. He was no worse for wear.

Snap finished up his glass of chalk orange juice. He placed the glass down and looked over at Saffron. She could still see the look of distrust in his eyes. But there was something else there now. Curiosity she guessed.

"So..uh...how did you come to work for this Mr. Cosmo guy?" Snap asked.

Ms. Saffron looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected to ask him that. Then again, what did she expect from someone she couldn't tell was actually there or not? It was like having a conversation with an imaginary friend. She wasn't sure how to respond at first.

She managed to force herself to reply. "Well, I was...a little down on my luck as a reporter and he took me under his wing. He taught me everything he knew about doing a good news story. If it weren't for him, I...I don't know where I'd be."

Snap nodded. "So it sounds like you have a lot of respect for this guy, am I right?"

Saffron didn't know why, but she smiled at the chalk entity. "Yeah. I guess you can say that."

"And uh...does he appreciate you in return?"

Saffron looked at him in shock. "What...what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I know he helped you out and all, and from what you hinted to me, it seems like you have been faithful like a dog to him." He quickly waved his hands. "No offense or insult meant with that statement. Anyway, with all you are doing for him, what is he doing in return for you? Is he showing that he is grateful for your help?"

She didn't know how to answer that. She searched her mind for an answer. Nothing came. What was Snap trying to imply? "I..." She stammered before going off into silence again.

Snap continued, "You say he took you under his wing and helped you. But let me ask you something. Please don't get angry with me. But I gotta know something..."

The woman was almost afraid of what the question was going to be. "Okay..."

Snap asked, "Did he really help you out because he was kindhearted enough to see you needed assistance, and did it out of the kindness of his heart...or..." He grimaced as he said the next part. "..or did he do it because he saw you to be useful to him? Did he do it just because he thought you would benefit him?"

What Snap implied rattled through the woman's mind. It wasn't like she didn't expect it. She couldn't deny that she had some doubts about working for Cosmo. But to hear it from Snap, a chalk based entity, someone who didn't know anything about her or him, something about that stung more harshly. Perhaps it was because she was still in denial. She wanted to believe that Mr. Cosmo appreciated her.

But Snap's second question rang through her consciousness. It made her rethink her actions she did for the man. Had he truly been grateful like he acted? Or did he see her as just another tool to be used?

She shoved those thoughts in the back of her mind. She didn't want to think about them. She couldn't allow someone, anyone, not even this chalk based thing, to put doubts in her mind when she and Cosmo were so close to accomplishing their goal. Exploring ChalkZone was at hand. Soon, they would be able to study that world, learn all they can about it. And if she listened to Snap's words, if she started to hesitate on this mission, it could ruin everything...

"How dare you..." Saffron growled at Snap.

Snap immediately jumped back, taking a defensive stance. "Whoa there, miss! I didn't mean to upset you!"

Ms. Saffron took in a few breaths, calming herself down. "It's fine I...I gotta go. Mr. Cosmo is waiting for me..."

With that, she got up from the old bed and went towards the door. She opened it up and started to walk out.

"For what it's worth..." She heard Snap's voice behind her. "...I don't think you're as bad as I thought you were."

This made Saffron pause where she stood. She looked over at Snap, a shocked look on her face. She hesitated to walk only for a few seconds. Slowly, she went out of the room and shut it behind her.


	17. Zoners Are Going Missing?

Penny tried to digest everything that they had been told. Her fears regarding Cosmo intensified when she had seen what he did to ChalkZone years ago. And it was unsettling that he was regaining his memories of the location. Just how much more dangerous could he get the more he was able to recall? Would he use the black chalk once again? Would he use it to corrupt Rudy?

Yes, that might have been what he was trying to do this whole time. She had no idea how much he recalled when he connected Rudy to Skrawl. But if the cure was black chalk, it wouldn't be farfetched that he did that on purpose so Rudy would have to use the dreaded chalk to disconnect. And using the chalk easily corrupted artists. If even the sweetest kids could be corrupted, what chance did Rudy stand?

The thought made her shudder. The idea that she could lose her best friend, mentally, to something like that, and knowing that, according to Biclops, there was no way to reverse it, it frightened her. She didn't want to risk losing Rudy to this.

There had to be some other way to free Rudy from the connection that Cosmo had placed on him. She didn't want to believe that only the black chalk was the cure. Maybe if she asked around, someone else could provide an alternative way. She knew she wouldn't be the only one who would love for there to be another way. She glanced over at Rudy as they walked along the grassy field.

Rudy looked pretty down after the chat with Biclops. He hadn't spoken a word since speaking with the giant. She remembered the look of horror he had on his face when he learned about the so-called 'cure'. He looked more terrified than her. It was he who needed a cure, not her.

She silently wished that it was she who was afflicted with this connection, not Rudy. The teenager had done so much for ChalkZone. He had known it for longer than she had. After all his heroics and doing what he could for the people here, she found it totally unfair that he had to suffer something like this.

Yet, that wasn't the only thing on the boy's mind. Biclops was unable to provide a definite course of action for Snap, other than to find him quickly and rescue him. They weren't expecting him to be able to come into the real world, so that didn't bother them. But the fact that he wasn't able to tell them anything that would make rescuing Snap easier was a downer. Then again, it was to be expected. The giant had not encountered Cosmo in years and had no idea what he was like now. Perhaps it had been wishful thinking that Biclops had some kind of master plan they could use to save Snap.

Rudy wanted to go on a walk to clear his thoughts and think of the next course of action. She was happy that he hadn't given up. That wouldn't be like him if he did. He and Snap were like brothers. If Rudy did something so crazy as to give up, she would snap him out of it. After all, Snap was like a brother to her as well. Sure she teased him from to time, but she still cared a lot for him.

It did feel strange walking through ChalkZone without Snap. Every second they took a step, she couldn't help but imagine hearing Snap calling out to them and trying to get them to go on another crazy adventure. And each time she thought she genuinely heard him, she had to resist turning her head, because everytime she did, she would find there was no one there. Disappointment would grip her heart, and she'd have to struggle not to let a tear pass through her eyes.

Penny was about to say something to break the silence when she heard someone calling out their names. She and Rudy stopped and turned to see who it was. They could see Rapsheeba running towards them. She was waving her hand at them to get their attention. She had a terrified look on her face. Something was wrong.

"Rudy! Penny!" Rapsheeba called out.

"Rapsheeba? What's wrong?" Rudy answered as he and Penny took a few steps towards the singer.

"It's...it's..."

Rapsheeba couldn't complete her sentence. She had to stop a few feet in front of the teenagers. She put her hands on her knees and panted a few times. Judging from this and the fact her face was reddened, she must have been running for quite sometime to find them.

This left Penny wondering what could have happened. She knew Rudy thought the same thing. Something had to have spooked or horrified Rapsheeba enough for her to go out of her way to find them. Had she been running the whole time? How long had she been looking for them?

When Rapsheeba caught her breath, she looked at the teenagers and spoke with a tone of dread in it. "Zoners are going missing!"

"What?!" Rudy and Penny cried in unison.

"Blocky, Lars, and Bathub Granny all disappeared without a trace!" Rapsheeba cried in terror. "They vanished into thin air!"

"Vanished in thin air...?" Penny breathed, not believing what she was hearing.

"Yeah! And I heard some other zoners, such as Barney the fuschia velociraptor and Lenny the cheetah and plane crossover, have also disappeared in that same spot!"

"Wait..." Rudy said. "Same spot? Are you saying they all disappeared in the exact same location?"

Rapsheeba nodded her head. "Yeah." She pointed her finger in the direction. "Down that way. I can take you to it. But be careful!" Rapsheeba said, motioning with her hands. "I don't want you to disappear as well!"

"Before you do," Rudy said. "We'll head down to warn the other zoners. I still need to tell them about Cosmo."

Rapsheeba looked at him. "Cosmo? Is he the one behind this?"

Rudy nodded his head. "I am certain it is. He's the one who captured Snap." Rapsheeba's eyes widened. Rudy narrowed his eyes. "And from the sound of it, he isn't stopping there."

Penny looked at Rudy. He had a look of determination on his face. It was clear he was not going to let anymore zoners fall prey to whatever plan Cosmo had in mind. He wasn't able to save Snap or the others. But he still had time to warn the other zoners before it was too late. If they were on high alert, it would be harder for Cosmo to capture them.

The situation got worse from before. It was bad enough when it was Snap who was in danger. The idea that Cosmo went and captured more zoners was nerve rattling to her, and she was certain Rudy thought this as well. What did Mr. Cosmo want with more zoners? What was his big plan? She shuddered to think that he was just going to kill them all off just to show how powerful he had gotten. Or maybe he was going to torture them. She didn't know which scenario was worse.

"I agree." Penny said. "The sooner we tell the others, the more time they will have to prepare in case Cosmo shows up here again."

"But that's just it..." Raspheeba said. "No human has been entering ChalkZone. No one except you two." She pointed at the two teenagers. "And no one here thinks either of you did it. We just know that zoners disappear in the same place. And they never reappeared."

"He never set foot in ChalkZone?" Penny asked, surprised. She found it hard to believe that the zoners disappeared in thin air. She thought Rapsheeba was exaggerating. But if Cosmo hadn't been in ChalkZone, just how were they disappearing?

"Yeah!" Rapsheeba said. "I didn't believe it myself, but I was on a stroll here earlier and I saw Blocky just..vanish. It wasn't all at once. I could see his body slowly fading, as if he were walking through an invisible opening."

Rudy's eyes widened. "Invisible opening?"

Rapsheeba nodded grimly. "I haven't seen him since. I am sure that is how the others vanished as well."

Penny had a dreadful thought. It was almost unspeakable. She didn't know how it was possible. The thought, it was inconceivable. But she wondered if it was, somehow, true. It would explain the disappearances. It would explain why they never came back. And it would all be connected to Mr. Cosmo.

It seemed Rudy had the same thought as her.

"Penny, do you think that..." He started to say. "..that the reason the zoners are disappearing is because of..."

"..because of an invisible portal...? Yeah..." Penny nodded her head slowly.

"An invisible portal? Are you joking?" Raspheeba said, a bit of a hopeful tone to her voice.

"I wish we were..." Rudy spoke softly. "If it's true..." He looked at the others with wide eyes. "We need to warn the other citizens of ChalkZone right away!"

With that, the trio rushed off.

sss

Ms. Saffron stood frozen in the hallway. She could hear the cries of not just one chalk entity, but multiple ones, wanting to get out. Some were frightened, others angered. She guessed there were at least twenty chalk people now trapped, along with Snap.

And it wasn't like she didn't see this coming. She had spoken to Mr. Cosmo earlier, who told her to 'prepare for company'. She didn't understand what he meant at first. But then she started to see Draow dragging off some kind of large sac. She followed him and saw that it was more chalk people, tossed into rooms like Snap had been.

She didn't understand the meaning of this. It was clear that this is what Mr. Cosmo wanted to see her about. He wanted to inform her that Snap will not be their only prisoner. But he never made it clear exactly what he wanted them for. At least with the blue one, she knew that it was to try to convince Rudy to his side. That at least made sense. But this, capturing all these zoners, just what was the purpose behind it? How would Cosmo benefit from this? What had he planned?

Those thoughts bothered her ever since she had found out. She was uncomfortable in the hallway now. She wasn't so much driven by her fear of the mysterious chalk entities. It was more that she didn't know what Cosmo wanted with them. At least, she didn't know, until she had done some snooping herself.

Prior to coming down here, she had found a way to see inside the locked off room. Mr. Cosmo had recently entered, probably to check on the machines that she so often heard rattle through the walls. She had snuck forward, being as quiet as she could, to get a closer look. Mr. Cosmo had left the door partially open. She didn't know if this was accidental or if it was part of a plan. Regardless, she still decided to have a peak. After all, Mr. Cosmo saw her as an ally and was less likely to get upset if it was her who had peaked in.

When she got a look inside, she was horrified. There was a zoner in there, what looked like a large white bear. Mr. Cosmo was dragging it over to the machine. She didn't dare watch the rest of it. She heard the sound of a scream. It was brief, but unsettling nonetheless. She didn't want to stick around. She rushed out of there as soon as she could.

What Mr. Cosmo did to the zoner, while it didn't kill it, she still regarded it as something worse than death. Is that what this man had planned for the other zoners? Was he going to do this to all of them? To Snap as well?

She paused for a moment. Did she really just show concern for Snap just now? She wanted to deny it. He was something drawn. He wasn't alive in the same sense she was...or was he? She felt the doubts returning to her mind. Could she really keep fooling herself into believing he wasn't alive? No one can die if they weren't alive first. No one could converse so dynamically if they weren't alive to understand emotion and to come up with responses that weren't rehearsed or programmed into them.

Or could he simply have been created that way? Rudy could have made Snap be able to communicate like a real person, without being 'real' himself. It was possible, she thought. Mr. Cosmo made it seem like practically anything was possible in a world of chalk where anything drawn comes to life. He seemed to indicate, and even shown in the case of Draow, that an artist can give any purpose, any abilities, any personality just by wishing for it when they create the chalk being.

Was Snap just another biproduct of this? Or was there something more to creating these beings that she thought? Was it possible that, regardless if a chalk entity had a purpose intended for them or not, they could develop their own personalities and still 'act alive'? Or rather, be alive?

Regardless of how she felt, she still felt bad for that white bear earlier. A part of her didn't want Snap to go through the same thing, should he be chosen for it. And the others... She didn't want to think about it.

Although she was not yet scheduled to bring any food to any of the zoners, she wanted to pay a visit to Snap. There was something about him that drew her to him. Something that was confusing, frightening, and yet fascinating. Despite being a chalk being, she found that she, in spite of her beliefs, enjoyed his company more than Mr. Cosmo's. She couldn't quite put her finger on why that was. Maybe it was his more pleasant personality compared to what she has seen Mr. Cosmo do.

She entered the room. She took notice on how Snap immediately got up out of his bed and went up to her, probably hoping for something to eat. Yeah, that had to be it. When he saw she had nothing, he frowned and walked away. It didn't look like anger. It looked more like he was just disappointed.

"Yeah, sorry. No food or drink this time." Ms. Saffron said. "But you can go on for a while longer without it, can't you? Not like you didn't eat for days."

"It might as well been that long." Snap said as he laid on his stomach on the bed. "That food wasn't very filling for me."

Ms. Saffron blinked at this. Just how much did this zoner eat? Did the boy drew him a 12 ft sub or something? She decided to ignore it and pushed it in the back of her mind. That wasn't really an important topic right now.

"I'll bring you more food later. I just..." She wasn't sure how to say it. "..I wanted to visit you."

Snap looked over at her, a perplexed look on his face. "Oh yeah? Why? Was there something you wanted to ask me?"

Although there was still a cautionary tone to his voice, Ms. Saffron noticed that, each time she visited Snap, he seemed to sound friendlier and friendlier towards her. She wasn't sure if it was because he was starting to trust her, if it was because he really didn't see her as so bad, or what. It was still nice, though. His aggressive tone he initially displayed towards her made her feel uneasy and further cemented in her head that zoners were dangerous beings.

But then he started to become nicer. He was still cautious of her, which was understandable. And the nicer he got, the more comfortable she was around him. Before, she wouldn't have dared enter the room without some food with her, as if she were trying to tame some wild beast. Now, she felt comfortable enough around him that she felt safe sitting down next to him without worry of him attacking her.

"Yes...I mean no...I mean..." Ms. Saffron stammered. "I just..don't know what to make of you, Snap. All this time, I thought people like you, made of chalk, weren't real. I mean, you were drawn weren't you? Sprung to life by an artist. How is that any different from an imaginary friend?"

Snap stared at her. She expected him to get angry at her and yell. But he was still calm. He gave a nod of understanding. "Yeah I know where you are coming from. You know, Rudy didn't always view me as 'real'."

This surprised Ms. Saffron. "He didn't?"

Snap nodded in response. "Yeah. He was..kinda like you actually. Well minus the whole 'afraid of chalk people' bit. He was never like that. But yeah, he thought that, because we were 'born' out of being drawn, rather than through...biological means...he thought we weren't really real." He gave a small smile as he continued, "That attitude of his did change pretty quickly, and he came to accept us as people, not as mere 'things'."

"So he mistreated you before?" Ms. Saffron asked.

"No, no, no! Nothing like that at all!" Snap waved his hands in front of him in protest. "He was always a nice kid. He and I were always pals ever since he first ceated me. But he was still so new to ChalkZone he just...wasn't sure how he should view us."

Ms. Saffron said, "I guess that's where I'm stuck at. A part of me wants to see you as real, but the other says I am only fooling myself."

Snap let out a chuckle at this. "Well sometimes you can't think too hard about stuff. Listen to your gut reaction. If you spend too much time trying to understand every little detail, you may miss out on the important things in life." He placed a hand on the woman's hand. "Feel that?"

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. The hand had a chalky feel to it. It also felt warm, something that stood out in stark contrast with the cool air that hung around the room.

"If I weren't here physically, you wouldn't be able to feel that, would you? In order for your hand to react to my touch, there has to be something for it to sense." Snap explained. "Now, you can sit there and question how this is possible, or you can accept reality as it is. That doesn't mean you are being gullible. But sometimes, in life, you have to accept things as they are instead of trying so hard to make sense of whatever you don't understand. You miss out on a lot of life if you do that too much."

The reporter thought about what the chalk...Snap told her. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Should she really let her brain keep asking all these questions? Was she showing weakness by accepting him as real despite the questions plaguing her mind? Could she really ignore how the conversation seemed too 'realistic' for him not to be real, all because her mind couldn't make sense of it all?

Snap wasn't done talking yet. The next thing he said, she wasn't expecting.

"Also, I wanted to apologize about earlier. When I questioned you about Mr. Cosmo. I hadn't meant to anger you. I know you said it was fine, but I still feel a bit bad about it. I hadn't realized I touched a sore spot with you. But please, hear me out." Snap said. He fumbled his two hands together as he thought of the words to say.

"Go on..." Ms. Saffron said softly, wanting to know more about what he wanted to say.

"It was sad hearing how things were for you, before you met this Mr. Cosmo person. However, even though I haven't known you for that long, I think you have more potential than you realize. I don't think you need Cosmo as much as you think. You are smart enough to pull off your work, your job, without his help. And if you start to believe in yourself, I'm sure your life will be much better." Snap rubbed the back of his head. "Okay that sounded a little...preachy I guess...but I hope you understand what I was trying to say."

Ms. Saffron just stared blankly at Snap. She wasn't sure what to think. A part of her wanted to be offended. She had been so grateful towards Mr. Cosmo for so long that the idea of her not needing him in the first place felt frightening to her. Yet, the blue boy's words sounded...encouraging, like she did have more potential than she gave herself credit for.

Then, out of impulse, she did something that neither she nor Snap could have predicted.

Taking care not to hurt him, she suddenly wrapped her arms around Snap and pulled him into a hug. Snap was stunned by this and didn't do anything to wriggle out of the embrace. She held onto him, gently squeezing him as she pressed her cheek against him. All the emotion she was feeling from earlier, the fear of the machines, what Cosmo wanted to do to the zoners, her confusion about Snap, it all manifested in the form of tears, which she tried so hard to hold back.

"I..uh..is something wrong?" Snap said nervously, obviously still in shock. "Did I say something?"

"I..I'm fine..." Ms. Saffron lied in a soft whisper. "I'm fine..." She continued to hug Snap. Though she was unsure of why she was doing it, she continued.


	18. Hidden In The Open

Rudy was glad that meeting was over. It was difficult finding as many chalk peole as he could and convincing them to all meet in the same place. They moved faster when he told them how urgent it was and how ChalkZone may be at stake. Upon Penny’s suggestion, he chose a large open field rather than a building to tell the zoners. Some of the zoners were so large that it would be hard to find buildings nearby that would fit them all.

Naturally, when he told them about the disappearances of some zoners, there was a panic. There was chatter amongst each other. Rudy attempted to talk over them, but they continued talking. Penny and Rapsheeba helped to calm them down, and Rudy continued, informing them of Mr. Cosmo and how he first kidnapped Snap, and how the other disappearances are likely related to him. He warned them of the invisible portal and to take precautions.

The zoners, though terrified, were grateful that Rudy told them about what was going on. Many of the zoners decided to stay near their homes until the crisis passed. The braver zoners promised that, if they find Mr. Cosmo, they would make him pay for what he did. Though Rudy was happy that some zoners will not take this laying down, he hoped that their overeagerness to fight Cosmo wouldn’t come back to bite them in the behind.

The meeting was short and brief. It may not have lasted more than ten minutes. Time was of the essence, so he couldn’t talk to them for too long. He kept the information short, brief, and to the point so that the zoners all understood what was going on. After it was done, Rapsheeba guided Rudy and Penny towards where she had spotted Blocky disappearing.

As Rapsheeba said they were getting closer and closer to the spot, the land around Rudy started to look familiar to him. No, it couldn’t be, could it? It must be his imagination. But as time went on, the area looked more and more familiar. The details were looking the same as the time he...shaking the thoughts out of his head, he continued walking behind Rapsheeba.

“Are we almost there?” Penny asked.

Rapsheeba paused, looking left and right. “Yeah. It should be around here somewhere...” She let out a soft gasp and said, “I found it! It’s over there!” She gestured with her hand. “Follow me!”

The trio ran towards where Rapsheeba was pointing at. When they reached the spot, as Rapsheeba stood there and pointed in one area, Rudy knew that his earlier imagination had been correct. He didn’t want it to be true. He didn’t want to believe that he had fallen for another one of Cosmo’s traps.

But it looked like he had.

This was the same spot where he had escaped into ChalkZone with Skrawl. The very same. There was no doubt about it. There were no other zoners around this time, but he remembered this particular landscape as he and Skrawl fell from the portal. He was certain he had erased the portal and from the looks of it, he had. But if that was the case, how were the zoners disappearing into it?

Penny took a few steps forward. Rapsheeba immediately stopped her. “Careful! That’s about where Blocky was when he disappeared!”

Penny looked around the area, her eyes frowning. “Something doesn’t seem right. If the portal is invisible, how are we going to find it? We can’t just throw something at it. We’d give away our position.”

Rudy nodded his head. “We’ll have to find some other way. I am sure this portal leads to Mr. Cosmo’s lair.”

“How are you certain?” Penny asked.

Rudy sighed. “I am certain because this is where Skrawl and I ended up when he escaped from him. This very spot. I had erased the portal, but....somehow Mr. Cosmo is still able to use it.” He looked over at Penny. “But he has no magic chalk. How can he...?”

Penny’s body gave a shudder. “You...you don’t think he...created a new type of chalk, do you?”

That thought scared Rudy. It was bad enough that Cosmo may have been responsible for creating the bonding chalk used on him and Skrawl. But to think he could have created more than one chalk, it was terrifying. How could he be capable of doing such a thing? Just what kind of knowledge was required to create custom effects for new types of chalk?

It was scary to Rudy to know that, in spite of all his years in ChalkZone, he didn’t know how to create new chalk, yet a man who had been in ChalkZone not only managed to do this, but may have done it more than once.

“Hey you two! Look at this!” They heard Rapsheeba say. The singer had inched closer to where Blocky vanished. Her eyes were seeing something they could not. “I...I think I see something here!”

Rudy and Penny took a look. At first, Rudy saw nothing. It looked like thin air. But then something came into focus. He narrowed his eyes, peering as closely as he dared. Something else was there. It was faint, barely noticeable. But it was there. He couldn’t believe it. If he wasn’t seeing it with his own eyes, he would have denied it was possible.

“The portal...it’s not invisible.” Penny breathed, her eyes widened. “It’s..it’s just at a lower opacity... It’s there, but it can barely be seen...” She stared at Rudy and Rapsheeba. “No wonder zoners easily fell into this trap.”

Rudy couldn’t comprehend the idea of a portal that had a lower opacity. He thought it wasn’t possible. Either the portal could be seen clearly, or it could not. And knowing that he was, somehow, indirectly responsible for it left a sickening feeling in his gut. The only comfort with this portal is knowing that they had a way directly to the building where he was certain Snap was being held.

Rudy looked over at Penny. They couldn’t waste any more time. They were at the portal now. They should go into it before Snap.... He didn’t want to think about it.

“Come on, Penny. Let’s go.” Rudy said to her. She nodded at him. He looked over at Rapsheeba. “And you, put up warning signs around this spot. Make sure that any zoner that passes by here that this is a danger zone. I don’t want any more zoners to fall into this trap.”

“You can count on me, Rudy.” Rapsheeba said.

Rudy and Penny stared at the barely noticeable portal. They looked at each other and gave a nod. Sucking in their breaths, they walked into the portal.

sss

Snap remained frozen in the hug. He had not expected this at all. There was no hint. The woman just latched onto him. He wondered at first if he said something else to hurt her feelings. If that was it, he would have apologized to her. And...oh man she was crying...did he really do something that bad this time?

“Hey I...” He sucked on his lips as he tried to think of what to say to cheer her up. “It’s...it’s okay..I’m sorry for what I said. Whatever I said to upset you, I’m sorry.”

Ms. Saffron didn’t reply. She hugged him a little tighter, as if she were afraid to let go. He couldn’t understand at first why she was doing this. It slowly dawned on him. What if she was hugging him out of...happiness? Maybe he hadn’t upset her after all.

Slowly, he convinced himself this was the case. As his mind accepted that he had made Saffron happy, not sad, a smile spread across his face. He liked making others happy. It felt good doing so. The warm feeling that made its presence known in his heart whenever he made someone happy, it was indescribable how exactly it felt.

It was awkward, given his posture, but he managed to put his arms around her the best he could, hugging her back. During the embrace, for a moment, he forgot he was in any danger. He forgot he was being held prisoner. He forgot that he hadn’t seen Rudy in a couple days. He forgot about the wound on his back and on his hand. All that he knew was that he was hugging someone who apparently needed one.

The hug didn’t last too long. It wasn’t because Ms. Saffron awkwardly pulled away. It wasn’t because he wanted to end it so soon. It was because the door’s handle was being turned. It rattled loudly enough for the two of them to get a forewarning.

The door creaked open. The two of them immediately let go of each other when they saw a shadow forming on the wall. Someone was coming in. Snap wondered who it was. He looked up at Ms. Saffron. Her eyes were widened. He turned his attention back to the door. There was a red-haired man standing there. He took a wild guess. It had to be Mr. Cosmo.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t seem to have taken notice to the hugging. He may not have seen it. Or maybe he just chose to ignore it. He took a few steps into the room. He frowned at Ms. Saffron, shaking his head slowly.

“What are you doing here, Ms. Saffron?” Mr. Cosmo asked coolly. “I did not give you any food to bring down for the little cobalt runt.”

“Hey...” Snap said in a warning tone.

“You be silent.” Mr. Cosmo told Snap before looking back at Ms. Saffron. “I am very busy right now, so I will let this slide. But in the future, do not interact with the prisoners unless I tell you to. Do you understand me?”

Ms. Saffron bit her lip. She nodded her head slowly, not bothering with a verbal response.

Mr. Cosmo smiled lightly. “Good...”

All the warmth from the room seemed to have vanished the second Mr. Cosmo looked back at Snap. His eyes pierced into his. There was something about them that made him shudder. The man hadn’t said a word to Snap about what he wanted with him, yet Snap could still see the promise of terror in the man’s eyes. Whatever he had planned for him, it was nothing good.

Snap found himself backing a little away from the man. It wasn’t because he wanted to. He really wanted to slug the guy. This wasn’t like Skrawl, who had a bunch of henchmen to help him, plus Skrawl had claws. This was a human being. Ms. Saffron didn’t look keen on helping him. So he must be alone. What could one guy do?

Yet still he stood there frozen. Maybe his subconscious was trying to tell him something. Maybe he should get out of here. The door was open. The man was blocking it, but he could sneak around him and zip past him. Even with the injury on his back and hand, he may still have the upperhand and be able to outrun this guy. But still, his mind kept him frozen. There was something about that man’s eyes, the way he stared at him. It filled him with so much dread that he couldn’t move.

No, Snap couldn’t let fear grip him. It was clear this man was the only true enemy here. The anger and defense he felt initially around Ms. Saffron resurfaced as he faced against Mr. Cosmo. He took a fighting stance, holding up his fists and hunching his back, careful not to stretch the wound.

“Why did you bring me here? What do you want with me?” Snap demanded. The laughter Cosmo emitted chilled Snap. Still he did not lose his composure. He took a step towards Cosmo, trying to be threatening. “What is so funny?! Do you have any idea who you are messing with here?!”

Mr. Cosmo said, “No...but neither do you.” His hands folded behind his back and he began to circle around Snap. “You are...quite a special part of my plan, Snap... That is why I kept you alive. If I thought that I couldn’t use you for this, trust me, I would have left you to die when Draow cut you open.”

Snap growled, “I am not some tool to be used...”

“And yet that is exactly what will happen. And it will begin very soon...” Mr. Cosmo droned coldly. “I know Rudy will be here soon. I...must be prepared.” His already creepy grin intensified as he stared into Snap’s eyes. “You are the key to my...new plan with that boy.”

Snap took a step back. “What...what are you talking about?” He tried to keep a brave face on, but it was getting harder by the second. “What are you going to do?”

Mr. Cosmo laughed. “Oh, so you’re telling me Ms. Saffron didn’t tell you?” The man looked over at Ms. Saffron. She grimaced at him. “I guess you never got around to doing that, did you? Why? Were you trying to hide the truth from the runt because you thought that it would distress him too much?”

Snap stared at Ms. Saffron in shock. “You...were hiding something from me?” Ms. Saffron looked at him sadly, then turned away. Snap whipped his head back and glared at Mr. Cosmo. “What is going on here?!”

“Oh Ms. Saffron... I understand that you thought that his time as a prisoner would be more bearable if somethings were kept from him.” Mr. Cosmo said in a somewhat mocking tone. “But I assure you that doing so would only make things worse. If he had known from the start, he wouldn’t be quite so surprised when I do....this!”

With that, Mr. Cosmo reached behind Snap’s head and grabbed his scarf. In a swift motion, he yanked the blue boy up into the air, uncaring if he aggravated his back injury or not. Snap let out a cry of pain and thrashed in the air. He tried to hit Cosmo, but he couldn’t reach him.

“Sir, what are you doing?!” Saffron cried in horror. “His back!”

“I don’t care...” Cosmo gave a hard shake to show how little he cared. Snap let out another yell of anguish. “So long as he stays alive long enough for me to continue my plan.”

Snap’s entire back felt like it was on fire. He had almost forgotten about the injury until Cosmo grabbed him like that. It was like he had scraped himself against the spikiest ground he could find. Some of the pain was starting to go away as the man steadied him in the air. But the pain was still unbearable. He again tried to wrench himself away, but it was no use.

The pain, though not as bad as it was initially, and the fact that he was having a harder time breathing eventually caused him to become limp in the air. All he could do was glare as harshly as he could at the man. He opened his mouth and he managed to speak one line in a strangled-sounding voice.

“Rudy....will....stop.....you....”

Mr. Cosmo gave Snap a sideways glance. He grinned evilly. “On the contrary...you are going to stop him...”

Snap’s heart froze at that statement. He wanted to ask this guy what he was talking about. But Mr. Cosmo was no longer in the mood to talk to him. He began to walk out of the door, carrying him along. The pain was returning as the man handled him roughly, not caring if he banged him against the wall or not.

The pain became so intense that he could barely take notice of what happened next. He thought he could hear Saffron’s voice calling out to them. He heard the whizzing of a door shutting. He could have sworn he heard a lock, then bounding.

That was the last thing he could register before his mind went dark, the pain finally forcing him to succumb.

sss

Just like Rudy had expected, he and Penny ended up in the same room where Skrawl dragged him into when they were being chased. The room looked pretty much the same. Even the writing on the chalkboard did not really change. The door was shut tightly and he guessed the walls were thick. It was so quiet in this room. That would explain why the zoners hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Rudy peered through the window on the door. He didn’t see anyone. Being very cautious, he grabbed the door knob and turned it. He eased it open and looked in the hallways. Again, he didn’t see anyone. There was no sign of Saffron, Cosmo, or that horrid beast, Draow. He gestured Penny to follow him.

Carefully, the two exited the room and moved down the hallways. Knowing that turning right would lead them to where he first entered the place, Rudy guessed they should go left instead, further down the pathway. After a little while of walking down the dank, dark hallway, a machine roared to life from below them. It was loud enough that they could feel its vibrations.

“W-What was that?” Penny cried, staring down at her feet.

“Whatever it was...” Rudy said softly. “It must be massive!”

“Do you think Snap...” Penny said, her voice trailing off.

The thought of the machine being used on Snap, not knowing what it was, filled Rudy with dread. He didn’t hear a scream accompany that machine’s sound. At first, he thought that would be a good reason to be relieved. It could mean Snap was fine. But then a horrible thought entered his mind. What if the reason there was no scream was because Snap was....dead...?

He shook those thoughts out of his head. No, Snap had to be alive. He could feel it in his heart. Snap was alive, and he was going to find him. He and Penny quickened their pace in the hall.

So far, they didn’t see much else of interest. There were no other doors. Or rather, there were no opened doors. The couple doors they spotted walking down here were sealed off. He wasn’t sure if they were just never used, or if Cosmo took precautions and sealed up important doors to keep him and Penny away from wherever he did his dirty work. He wouldn’t put it past that man to have a secret tunnel leading down to his ‘workshop’, or whatever he called it.

They soon reached the end of the hallway. To the side, they could see a set of stairs. It looked a little rusted, but it seemed like it was still strong enough to support their weight. Slowly, they made their way down, careful to step lightly so they wouldn’t alarm Mr. Cosmo to their presence. The stairs slowly spiraled once before continuing on straight. It was almost like someone took some playground slide and transformed it into a staircase.

It didn’t take them long to reach the bottom of the stairs. They found themselves in an area that had a horrible smell hung thickly in the air. It was better illuminated compared to upstairs, although the green lights on the wall did not help too much with illumination. There were multiple paths they could take, more than one hallway. It was hard to tell which way to choose.

The sound of the machine could be heard again. Penny looked down one hallway. “That sound...it’s coming from over there.”

“I want to say we shouldn’t go but...” Rudy bit his lip. “I...I have a feeling we’ll find Snap down that way...”

Cautious, the two walked down the hallway the sound came from. As they continued down, the machine got louder and louder. They could have sworn they heard the cries of people intermixed with the machine. They wondered if it was the zoners that Mr. Cosmo obviously had kidnapped.

Then they saw it. There was a door with an eerie red hue glowing from the space between the door and the floor. Rudy’s eyes widened. More red...His dream, his encounter with Mr. Cosmo... Unconsciously, he took a step back.

“Rudy?” Penny asked.

Rudy didn’t answer her. He stared at the red light. He was frozen. He wanted to move, but for some reason, he could not. His thoughts went to his dream. Could it have been a vision this whole time? If that were the case, then that meant he was...he was going to lose Snap. No, it couldn’t be true...

No it wasn’t true. It was just a dream. He couldn’t allow it to get to him. He tried to push it in the back of his thoughts. He moved up to catch up with Penny. She looked at him worriedly. He wanted to reassure her, but there was nothing he could think of to say. He moved closer to the door and put his hand on the handle.

“Are you ready for this?” Penny asked.

Rudy stared at the doorknob. He looked back at his friend. “Yeah, I am. Come on, we have to hurry.” With that, he turned the door knob and pushed it open.

The room they stepped into was a red hue thanks not to red lights lining the walls, but the machines themselves. They were red in coloration, and they seemed to almost glow. There looked to be at least three machines, though there could possibly be more somewhere else in this cursed building. They were massive and looked very hi-tech and advanced. They chugged away, doing who knows what kind of task.

One machine looked like it was a printing machine on steroids. It had a huge conveyor belt lined with spikes. It had a red whistle that spewed crimson steam whenever it wailed. There was a panel with all sorts of buttons. The machine roared to life while they stared at it. The conveyor belt moved and something appeared on it. Penny and Rudy got a closer look. It looked like some kind of...bracelet, only it was obviously a piece of technology, not jewelry.

Another machine looked almost like a vacuum cleaner turned on its side with a large joystick pressed into it. The suction end, which looked more like a professional hairdryer they’d find at a beauty palor, hung over a round platform. A few sparks of blue electricity shot out of it, giving a very clear idea of what its function was.

Then the third machine, the one that stood between these two, was the largest and most foreboding of them all. It had a platform with shackles attached on the four corners, clearly meant to strap in any poor victim to it. There was a glowing, flashing panel with a key pad and a few joy sticks. There were numbers on the machine. They had no idea what they meant. Their eyes traveled to the top of the machine, which had what looked like a huge satellite, only the tip was a narrow point with something like...a cross between liquid and light, dripping from it. It was pointed straight at the platform, making its intentions eerily clear.

What frightened Rudy and Penny the most wasn’t just the presence of these terrible machines. It was also the fact that they could see red stains on the ground. Even from where they stood, they knew it could only be one thing.

Blood...

“Rudy...” Penny breathed as she stared at the three loud machines. “These...these look like they were created in ChalkZone...”

Indeed, she was correct. Taking a second look at the time, Rudy noticed they did look like they were drawn. To further confirm it, they all had a chalky outline. But..how was it possible? Mr. Cosmo wasn’t in ChalkZone. None of the zoners spotted him, and Biclops would have taken notice to Cosmo pretty quickly.

There were only two possibilities. Either Mr. Cosmo had been in ChalkZone and the zoners were lying, which he didn’t think was possible, or...

...or some zoners were willingly working for Cosmo... But they wouldn’t do that, would they? No zoner would be stupid enough to work for someone like Cosmo. Maybe Draow. He was loyal as a dog to that guy. But surely Cosmo couldn’t fool zoners into building something like this.

Or could he...?

“Yeah...” Rudy said, trying to get that thought out of his mind. “These do look like they came from ChalkZone...”

The two of them froze at the sound of a slow clap from behind them. They turned around, and froze at what they saw. There stood Mr. Cosmo. He smiled coldly at them. His hands slammed against each other as he continued to clap.

Before Rudy could demand where Snap was, Cosmo raised a hand in the air. “Before you say a word, I will say this to save your breath. Yes, I do have your friend Snap...I take it you came here because you want him back?”

“Where is he?!” Rudy snapped at the man. He looked left and right, expecting Draow to come barging in.

“What have you done with him?” Penny demanded, taking a stand beside Rudy.

“So you want to see your friend again...” Mr. Cosmo said calmly, scraching his chin as if thinking over a tough question. “Since I know you will not leave until you see him again, okay...I will take you to where he is being held...” He turned his back to them and made a ‘follow me’ gesture with his hand. “I must warn you two...” He gave them a creepy sideways glance. “You will not like what you see...”

Rudy and Penny looked at each other. What did he mean by that? The way he said it, nothing good could come out of it. He had done something terrible and they had no idea what it was...for now. For whenever they saw Snap again, wherever he was, they were certain they would quickly notice what Mr. Cosmo did.

Without much of a choice, they followed Mr. Cosmo. They didn’t know where Snap was being held. And even if they did escape from the room, Mr. Cosmo knew they were in the buiding. He could easily take Snap somewhere else, out of the building, before they could find him. Neither of them liked the idea of following this man. He could be leading them into a trap. But they didn’t see much of a choice.

“Snap...” Rudy said in an inaudible voice as they headed down the hallway. “I hope you are safe...”


	19. This Is What I Have Done

The further they walked down the hallway, the creepier it got. Rudy had to summon all his strength not to look around at the place. The machines were bad enough, and while this wasn't particulary terrifying in itself, it was quite unsettling to say the least. He wouldn't have expected less from Cosmo. This place did a great job reflecting this man's personality.

The walls became smoother and more refined, with glowing edges and no grooves on the side. It was like he was worried about someone climbing the walls or something. There were multiple pathways, many of which were blocked off by clearly chalk-created force fields. Some of the fields stood out to Rudy. They looked like they had electrified water instead of the usual...whatever the other shields were made of. He wondered what they were used for.

The rooms they walked passed were largely empty. He guessed that he kept important stuff locked up in smaller rooms. Rudy supposed that made sense; keeping crucial machinery out in the open could make them easier targets for anyone wanting to destroy them. In these rooms, to get up to higher levels, platforms rose and fell in a rhythm. Even though the mechanics were probably as simple as an elevator going up and down, the look and feel of these platforms gave the whole place a futuristic vibe.

In a way, it reminded him kind of the Future Dome. There were all kinds of hi-tech gadgets there. There were stuff there that didn't work right. A lot of Craniac 4's robots didn't work so well. But looking around this place, Rudy had doubts that Craniac 4 could be responsible for any of this. It seemed too...clean was the only word he could think of. It looked like it was designed by a professional.

Rudy took notice of the ceiling. It looked like it had a lot of padding, honeycomb like in appearance. The honeycomb might have been just for looks, but it was clear it was thick. This might be why the workers above have no idea what's going on down here. The sounds may be too muffled. And he was certain Mr. Cosmo has his own power source, meaning that his electric bill was separate from the company's bill. That would help him to hide his work even from other people who use the same building. Clever jerk.

As they continued down, Rudy could have sworn he something move in the corner of his eye. He looked over, and saw nothing. He shrugged it off. Maybe he was just seeing things. No...there it was again. Something was moving around where he couldn't see, and when he turned his head, it wasn't there anymore. What was going on?

"Rudy..." Penny's voice came soft and low. She tugged at his sleeve. "Look over there..." She pointed to one side.

Rudy looked and he tried not to gasp in horror. He now saw the source of those images in the corner of his eyes. And now he wasn't sure if he really wanted to see this.

There were multiple zoners walking around dutifully, almost robotically and preprogrammed. They looked lifeless, even though they were clearly still alive. Some zoners they recognized immediately. Blocky, Lars, even Skrawl and his minions were here, doing whatever task Mr. Cosmo forced upon them. And what was even scarier is that they didn't look like they were really 'there'. Silent and machine-like in the way they moved, it sent chills down the teens' spines.

A few of the zoners had something sparkling on their heads. Lars was the first one they took notice of who had this. Most of them wore something dark blue around their ankles. A bracelet of some kind, the same kind they had seen earlier. Rudy guessed these, somehow, controlled the zoners. He didn't understand the head one. He saw nothing strapped there. A closer look might help.

They went down one more hallway. This one was kinda like a hexagon in shape with lights lining it. Some had a very faint red hue, and others a faint green hue. This hallway emptied into a relatively large room. It was smaller than the machine room, but it was still pretty big. It had a lower section with no features other than a platform and a black box-like thing in the corner. Up above, they could see a green-tinted shield that formed an enclosure.

As soon as they entered the room, there was a creak behind them. They looked over and saw metal bars rising from the ground. Penny was horrified. But while Rudy was also shocked, the impact was a little weaker on him. After being trapped before by bars blocking the exit, he wasn't surprised by this.

What did surprise him a little more was when Mr. Cosmo went over to the platform and activated it too fast for him and Penny to catch up. They craned their heads up as Mr. Cosmo got onto the high level, but not bothering to lower the platform for them. It was clear that they were exactly where he wanted. They had to prepare for whatever he was going to throw at them.

Rudy glared up at Mr. Cosmo, who had taken position in the shielded area. "Where is Snap?"

Mr. Cosmo smirked down at him. "Don't worry. You will see him soon enough. Just let me make an adjustment here and...there you go!"

The metal box they had seen earlier started to grow a little in size. Then it became taller at a quick rate before getting wider again. The black material pixelated and disappeared at a slow rate, from top to bottom. As the black disappeared, Rudy and Penny watched in fearful anticipation of what they were about to see.

What they saw was engraved in their heads, and it would not leave them for a long time, if ever.

Snap was on the ground, laying on his stomach. Bandages were wrapped around his body, but it did little to hide the severity of the wound. The entire back was coated red, some light red mixed in with dark red, and then what looked to be black. His hand had some cuts on it too. They weren't as bad, but they hadn't been treated and at least one cut looked like it was showing some early signs of mild infection.

Surrounding Snap was a shield, keeping Rudy and Penny from being able to get close to him. And he was laying so still... They couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not. His head was turned away from them. They would have moved around to see, but getting their feet to respond after see this was like trying to cut a dull knife through butter. The sight of it was just so horrific. How could anyone be this cruel to someone like Snap? Yeah he sometimes got on their nerves once in a while, but he meant well. He...he never did anything to deserve this.

Choking back tears, Rudy bravily walked around to look Snap in the face. When he did, he saw the blue superhero was unconscious. Part of him was relieved that, for the time, he wasn't in pain. But fear still gripped the boy like a vice. How badly hurt was Snap? Did he lose a lot of blood? Was he...was he going to wake up again...?

And his head...Rudy quickly noticed something sparking from it. He had seen it on the other zoners, but never close enough to see what it looked like. On Snap, it looks liked a flat gray disc that was placed in the middle of his forehead. But seeing a tiny trickle of blood coming from where the so-called disc was told him that it was much deeper than that. He would have thought Snap was dead if it weren't for his ribcage moving up and down slowly, if unsteadily.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Penny. She stared at him with wide, tearful eyes. She glanced down at Snap. She saw the thing in his head and put her hand to her mouth, gasping in horror. He wanted to comfort her, but there was nothing he could say. The two stared down at their fallen friend, trying so hard to fight back their tears.

"What..." Rudy started to say. His hands clenched into fists, trembling. His eyes closed tightly as tears dripped from them. He felt all the negative emotions bottling up inside of him, wanting to come out. He shot a hateful look at Mr. Cosmo. "..what the hell have you done to Snap?!"

"My my...what foul language you have there." Mr. Cosmo chuckled half-heartedly. He moved his hand towards where Snap lay prone on the ground. "He is alive. Don't worry. He doesn't have any life threatening injuries on him and..."

"What is that thing in his head?" Rudy demanded through clenched teeth. "Why did you put it there? And what happened to his back and hand? What have you done?!"

"Hmm so many questions..." Mr. Cosmo said slowly. He casually leaned against the forcefield in front of him. "I will answer those questions. First, his back. You have Draow to thank for that. He cut open the blue boy's back with one of his wing claws. It has been treated...just enough to make sure he doesn't die from it. I admit my dragging him around like a rag doll didn't help. May have reopened some of the cut. Oops." He said the last word with a mocking tone.

Rudy snarled at him, his body shaking in rage. Penny glared at him but she tried to look more composed than Rudy was, who looked like he wanted to tear into Mr. Cosmo.

"His hand is his own fault. I put some spikes on the underside of the door to discourage him from using his two dimensional powers and escaping. I see he was smart enough not to go much further, so only his hand is damaged." Mr. Cosmo said. During all this, he sounded a little too cheerful, like talking about pain and misery was normal for this sick and twisted man. "And now to address the thing in his head... You may have noticed some of the zoners you spotted wearing bracelets, such as..what did you call him..Skrawl. But others, like your friend there, have something in their heads."

"What are they?" Penny asked, her voice tense.

"I will not drag this on. They are mind control devices." Mr. Cosmo replied, smiling darkly. "The bracelets were my first try. They do the job just fine. But see, they can be easily taken off. So for your friend here, I needed something else. Something you can't just pull off. So I experimented on the white bear."

"Lars..." Rudy said, remembering seeing something spark from the bear's head.

"Yes, Lars. I used him to test a new type of mind control device. It was smaller, so it was easier to manifacture. And it goes straight into the brain." He smiled as he saw Rudy and Penny's faces grow horrified. "Not enough to kill, but enough that I can send my own electric signals to them, and force them to do whatever I want. And since it's in the head, you can't simply remove it by pulling it out. Not unless you want to kill them..."

Rudy's breath became shaky. He looked over at Snap. He didn't want to believe there was no way to free him. No, there had to be something he could do for him. But he can't even grab him...He couldn't ignore the feelings of helplessness as they started to grow inside of him.

Penny's composure started becoming lost. There was a tremble here or there. Rudy watched as she took a step in Mr. Cosmo's direction. Then she spoke in a hiss between her teeth. "You are a despicable, vile man..."

"Calling me names will get you nowhere." Mr. Cosmo said, waving off what Penny said with a motion of the hand. "Now...about that proposition..."

"I'm not striking a deal with you!" Rudy shouted, taking a step back. He looked over at Snap. "After what you did to him..." He whipped his head around to face Cosmo. "...you must be crazy to think I would work with you!"

Mr. Cosmo chuckled. "So defiant. It amuses me to see you are still in this state of mind. Not to worry...I may have a way to change all that." He laughed as the boy and girl glared at him. After he finished, a serious expression came onto his face. "I really wish you'd listen to me, boy. Your mind is too clouded by this percieved friendship you have with these creatures. I understood, oh so long ago, the purpose these creatures really fulfilled. I am simply harnessing their potential."

"You're using them like toys!" Penny snapped venom at the men.

"Yeah!" Rudy chimed in. "You are using them like slaves!"

"Slaves... Definition would be to use sentient beings to do your own bidding, used derogatory." Mr. Cosmo said calmly. "That...doesn't apply here. Chalk people are merely drawings that just seem life-like." He gave a small smile at Rudy, staring at him in the eyes. "And here you are, believing and wanting friendship with such worthless beings. If you could open your eyes and see the truth, you'd understand where I'm..."

"Shut up!"

Rudy never knew he could scream so loudly at someone, let alone be so angry with one person. Not even Skrawl, Mr. Wilter, or Reggie Bullnerd had ever angered him to this point. Even the antics of Vinnie and Terry seemed like harmless child's play compared to what Cosmo was doing.

He didn't like feeling this angry. He knew that if he let it consume him, he would be blinded by it and lash out violently. The result could be catastrophic and they may very well lose the chance to save Snap. He fought to keep it under control. The man's awful chuckle didn't help him any. It aggravated him, pissed him off further. He really wanted to punch this guy in the face, if he could get away with it.

In the midst of his anger and the thoughts encircling his mind, there was something he remembered he had forgotten about. This something was so shocking that it caused the anger to slowly melt away. He didn't say a word to Penny about it. Right now, it wasn't the time for this talk. Not in front of Mr. Cosmo, who may use it against him.

The pale portal...he had forgotten to erase it. How could he have been so stupid? His mind was so determined to get Snap back, that he had forgotten that he could erase the portal. That would have relieved Rapsheeba the job of putting up warning signs. At least no more zoners will fall into the trap, but still...why didn't he erase it...? Was he really that distraught that he wasn't thinking as clearly and being more prone to mistakes than he usually is?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Mr. Cosmo started talking again. He glared up at him, trying his best to hide his worry and confusion from a second ago.

"Just...how far have befriending these creatures gotten you?" Mr. Cosmo said with a sneer.

Rudy wasn't sure how to respond. "I...what...?"

"I know all about your struggles, boy. Or have you forgotten? Ms. Saffron told me how you reacted to being called a juvenile delinquent..." Cosmo chuckled at this, folding his arms up in a proudful manner. "The way you reacted...you were obviously hiding something. You were...too defensive. And you see...you only got in this mess because you waste your time being buddy buddy with such inferior beings..."

Unsure of what else to do, unsure of how to argue with the man, Rudy just spat out, "That's not true!" He doubted it would work. This man...he couldn't be reasoned with.

"Oh little boy..." Mr. Cosmo shook his head slowly, his voice ringing with disappointment. "You keep telling yourself that. But you cannot deny on where you are. Last in your class. Only a smidgin better than Reggie Bullnerd." He smiled when Rudy's head snapped towards him with a disgusted frown. "Yes, I predicted that you'd act like a tough egg to crack, based on what Ms. Saffron told me a few days ago. But gathering from her data, and from how you are acting towards me, it really wouldn't take much...would it...?"

Rudy didn't like how the man was sounding at this point. Penny was taking a few steps away. He found himself doing the same thing without really paying attention. This voice was dripping with an ominous feeling. All his gut feelings were telling him to run away.

But his feet suddenly were frozen. The rest of his body followed suit. He couldn't do anything, not even something as simple as wriggle his fingers. He stared at Mr. Cosmo as if the man had suddenly grown wings and was sweeping towards them with a large ray gun.

What the man was implying was scaring him. He had this twisted belief that he could be easily molded, changed into doing what he wanted. It sickened him to the core. He didn't know how Mr. Cosmo could think such a thing. Rudy would never join the forces of the likes of someone as disgusting as him. Oh how he wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face...

His thoughts went to what he had said about school. His body gave a shudder when he realized what Cosmo was implying there. He was trying to tell him, somewhat indirectly, that all his time in ChalkZone was affecting his grades.

And what scared him more about this was...Mr. Cosmo might have a point. He did spend a lot of time in ChalkZone. Maybe not as much, but he still went there whenever possible. He didn't do as much studying as he should. He forgoed chances of study and improving his grades for the opportunity to visit ChalkZone and his chalk friends. Could Mr. Cosmo be right? Could ChalkZone be the very reason he was flunking out of school?

He shook his head. No, that wasn't the reason. He couldn't allow Cosmo to make him blame ChalkZone for his hardships. He wouldn't lie and say he was doing just fine and dandy in school. But he knew ChalkZone was not to blame. The people there never made him come in; he made those decisions himself. His grade failures were because he wasn't put enough effort into studying, not because of him making friends in ChalkZone.

"You're wrong..." Rudy retorted back in a low voice. He clenched his hand, his fingernails digging slightly against the skin. Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow, but kept silent. Rudy used this silence to continue. "And you know what? It sounds like to me you don't understand the value of friendship. And hey, that's fine. When you're a monster, who needs friends right? But let me tell you something. These chalk people you enslaved, they've helped me out in the past. And Snap here, the one you kidnapped and tortured, is my closest friend I have in ChalkZone. And yes he is not technically human...but he is more human than you will ever be."

He paused for a moment. He glared at Mr. Cosmo. He gave a few seconds for the man to reply. Mr. Cosmo just waved a hand at him, gesturing for him to continue on with his rant. And so Rudy did.

"All this here, your machines and your ChalkZone slaves, attempting to brainwash me...You know what this all says about you?" Rudy said, his voice growing a little in volume as he gained more and more confidence to speak. "You're nothing but a coward, Mr. Cosmo. I know you could kill me quite easily. This place is well hidden. But if you were really all that, you wouldn't need the zoners to do anything for you. I rarely see you up on the front line. I bet you never fought anyone, face to face. You hid behind your creations and your lackeys years ago. And as soon as you were stripped of them, you were powerless. So tell me, Mr. Cosmo...given all that..." He took a step forward. "Why should I listen to you?"

Mr. Cosmo just glared at him. He looked visibly angry. Yet, when he spoke, he was still so calm and reserved. It sent chills down the two teenager's spines, causing them to shudder. "I will show you..." With that, he pushed a button.

Behind them, they heard a crackling sound. They turned and saw the shield around Snap had disappeared. The blue boy's eyes slowly opened up. At first, Rudy and Penny were happy to see him awake. But when he looked at them, right after the initial confusion, suddenly terror filled Snap's eyes.

"Rudy...Penny..." Snap whimpered through the pain and obvious knowledge of what was going to happen. "G-Get away...this is...a...t-trap...!"

The metal thing on his head sparked more intensively, causing him to scream as he was jerked to his feet like a puppet. Then, without warning, he lunged forward.

sss

Ms. Saffron wanted to bang her head against the wall a few more times. Her head was getting sore, but she didn't care. A few more times her head against the hard wall before she finally had enough and she slumped back into the bed. She wasn't hitting hard enough to damage her brain, but a part of her wondered if she deserved brain damage for what she had done.

How could she have been so foolish? She should have told Snap the truth. She should have warned him about what Mr. Cosmo had in store for him. If she had told him earlier, maybe things could have turned out different...

...no they wouldn't. She kept telling herself that. No matter what she told him, he still would have been taken to the same fate that Cosmo told her. Granted, she didn't know every little detail. She just knew that it was going to be horrible.

She didn't tell Snap for his own sake. She thought things would be better if he didn't know, so he could be more relaxed until the time came. But Mr. Cosmo had been right. It had made things so much worse. And the way he looked at her, a hurt look asking her 'why did you betray me?'...it stung her in the heart. She wanted so much to apologize to him. But he had been dragged away cruelly by Mr. Cosmo.

She had given chase to try to stop him. But Mr. Cosmo clearly had other plans. He must have taken notice to her getting 'too friendly' with Snap and worried she may do the same with the other prisoners. So he had slammed the door behind him and it had locked instantly. She pounded on the door, trying to pry it open. It wouldn't budge. She was trapped.

Saffron pressed her back against the wall the bed was placed against. She tilted her head upwards, staring at the damp-looking ceiling. She winced at the sight. She wondered if some of that dripped onto Snap while he slept. The thought made her shudder, thinking about how much that would have hurt him.

Before, her mind would tell her that it was just playing tricks on her. That Snap could, no way, be actually real. He was just a drawing. But the more she thought about it, the more she began to doubt that notion. The way he had reacted when Mr. Cosmo dragged him off. The screams he had emitted before finally falling silent...it reminded her too much of what happened to her as a kid, regarding an unfortunate bicycling accident.

It was right then and there she realized...that maybe, just maybe...she had been wrong about him, and of the other zoners as well. She could no longer deny what was becoming plainly obvious to her. The zoners were indeed alive...and she had helped Mr. Cosmo, who wanted to capture and enslave them...

But now she was trapped in this room. There was no way she could get out of this. The door was boobie-trapped. If she tried to stick her hand underneath, she would get cut up. Seeing what it did to Snap's hand, she didn't want to take that risk.

She looked at the door knob. There was a keyhole there. She did have a hairpin. Maybe she could...

No it wouldn't work. Just in movies. There was no way that it could work in real life...

Or could it? Ms. Saffron bit her lip as she looked down at her cellphone, which had no service currently. She looked at the time. Her eyes widened. This was around when Mr. Cosmo was going to begin part one of his two part plan with Snap. If she wanted to make a difference, she had to get out of here. She got out a hairpin and stared at it. She looked back at the keyhole.

Saffron knew she had to take the chance. She had to do something, and fast. She placed the hairpin in the knob's keyhole and attempted to unlock it.


	20. We Must Escape

The world around Penny began to spin as events were flung at her so fast, she barely had time to comprehend them. The invisible portal was bad enough. And this place didn't help relax her at all. It gave off a weird, unsafe vibe, in spite of how secure it looked. It was that security that made her nervous. Getting out of here was going to be an issue.

Seeing all the controlled zoners gave her the creeps. The way they moved so zombie-like...It kinda reminded her of an incident Rudy once told her about. Skrawl had built a giant brain to hypnotize everyone in ChalkZone. And she was quite efficient and could make them think anything she wanted them to.

But this, what Cosmo did, it was so much worse. These zoners didn't look the least bit self aware. They were moving about automonously, like they were just machines carrying out orders delivered via an electrical current. She doubted they could even speak, so even if there was a bit of self awareness left in them, there was nothing they could do about it. They were trapped inside their own bodies, moving around, being used like they were nothing but tools.

Snap's condition...she wasn't sure if it was better or worse, excluding the injuries of course. He seemed, no, he proved he was self aware. He wasn't droned out and he could still speak to them. But perhaps, that made his situation so much scarier. He couldn't stop himself. Every time he tried to swing a punch at them or kick at them, he'd apologize, and he'd yell at himself in an attempt to regain control of his own body.

Penny shuddered at the thought of being a prisoner of oneself. Not being able to stop an attack against a loved one, family, friends. And being fully aware of everything, seeing it all, feeling the impact of the attack hitting. It was no wonder that Snap looked absolutely terrified and crushed the whole time as she and Rudy did their best to dodge his..no...Cosmo's attacks. It was Cosmo controlling Snap, and he was enjoying every second of it.

Cosmo was holding some kind of device in his hands. Penny got a good glimpse of it. She was disgusted when she found out what it was. Some kind of hi-tech controller. Like from a video game...as if this is all it was. A video game...

Penny was literally flung from her thoughts when she felt Snap's gloved hands grab onto her and throw her against the wall.

"I'm sorry Penny!"

That's what she heard as her back slammed against the wall in a thud. She hadn't been thrown hard enough to do much damage, but her back was pretty sore after that. She quickly got up to her feet and gave it a rub. That was going to bruise, definitely.

She heard rapid footsteps in her direction. She looked over, her eyes widening, as Snap rushed in her direction. His eyes were wide and she could of sworn she saw tears. The sight of that made her heart break. Snap rarely ever cried. It would take a lot of emotional or physical abuse, or both, to make him do that.

"Look out!" Snap cried as he pulled his fist back for another attack.

Penny jumped out of the way. She heard the loud thud of Snap's fist making contact with the hard floor. She heard him groan in pain for a few seconds after that. She realized, with dread, that Cosmo forced him to punch with his injured hand. And Snap could not do anything to ease the pain. He was a puppet being bent to Cosmo's whim.

Rudy lunged at Snap. Penny watched as he wrapped his arms around his friend and held him tightly, but gently. Rudy was attempting to avoid putting too much pressure on Snap's back while at the same time keeping leverage.

Snap obviously knew what Rudy was trying to do. For a moment, he had somewhat of a relieved expression. Though behind that, there was still fear. Even he knew that Rudy won't be able to hold on for very long.

"Rudy, try to hang on...p-please..." Snap begged. He tried to fight against his arms trying to jerk free. He tried to hold his feet still, but they were still kicking as if they had a mind of their own. "I-I...I don't want this..."

"Don't worry..." Rudy whispered as he continued to hold down Snap. "I won't let go of you." He flinched as he said that. He closed his eyes and pressed his head against Snap. "I am not going to lose you again..." His voice was soft when he said that, barely audible.

Penny knew Rudy was going to need some help. She rushed over to the two. She went in front of Rudy. She knelt down and proceeded to put her arms around Rudy, pressing Snap between them. She held on, but like Rudy, took care not to hurt Snap any further.

It was hard to imagine, but only a few days ago, they had been in ChalkZone attending Snap's birthday. They had danced and had a lot of fun there. But now they were fighting against some insane man bent on what she guessed was the conquering of ChalkZone and turning all its citizens into slaves. And now she and Rudy were trying to keep Snap from being controlled.

What a stark contrast...

Mr. Cosmo peered over the edge, pressing his face against the shield. Penny could see that, no matter how calm he looked, she could see the glint of dementia in his eyes. "You two really are something, aren't you? Even as your friend is trying to hurt you, still you will not throw a punch. I see the loyalty you have with this...creature...is stronger than I would have thought. How interesting..."

Penny didn't bother to throw a retort at the man. He clearly would not listen to reason. Anything she would say to him, he'd just throw back or he'd give a counter remark. He was in his own little world, where the only thing that mattered was his opinions. It didn't matter what she and Rudy said to him. This man would not be convinced.

She had a feeling this was the black chalk's work. She wasn't about to defend him and say that he was being mind controlled and how the real Mr. Cosmo wasn't like this. But she was certain the black chalk made his personality much worse. And since it was permanent...yeah she understood immediately that nothing would change Mr. Cosmo. However he was like before, that Cosmo was gone and this one, this black chalk tainted version, was here to stay.

And how she despised the black chalk Cosmo. She wasn't a typically violent person, but she would make an acception for Mr. Cosmo. And she had a strong feeling Rudy would be with her on this. But despite every urge to punch the man for what he did, there was only one option they had.

Escape.

But how were they going to do that? They were stuck in this room. And she had a feeling the only way this man would let them out was if Rudy agreed to his terms...

"How noble of you to keep your friend from living out his worst nightmare..." Mr. Cosmo sneered. He put his finger against a large button on the controller. "But I'm afraid this little song and dance is over..."

As he pressed it, another spark and another scream from Snap. He tried to fight against it, but his muscles weren't his to command. His arms jerked outward so fast it forced Rudy and Penny to let go. His body then twisted like a rag doll towards Rudy and he jumped for the artist boy. A fist was held out in front of him.

"Rudy!" Snap shouted.

"Get out of the way!" Penny yelled to Rudy. She was too far to block the attack.

Rudy looked up and saw a flash of blue before the fist, the uninjured one this time, connected to his jaw. Rudy felt his head snap back. There was no crack, which Penny was thankful for. But that didn't do much to ease the pang she felt as Rudy tumbled into the ground, landing on his back.

Then Snap was forced to jump onto Rudy's chest. The look on Snap's face was indescribable. So much emotion showed very clearly on the masked zoner's face. If he had pupils, they would be dilated into tiny dots right about now. Snap raised a fist in another attempt to punch Rudy.

"I-I'm sorry...Rudy..." Snap whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek as his arm jerked back further.

Penny sprung into action. She rushed over to where Rudy lay on the ground. She jumped into the air. Snap looked at her in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him and pushed him into the ground. He let out a cry of pain as his injuries slammed against the ground. But despite being in pain, he gave a grateful smile to Penny.

This was short-lived, though. Mr. Cosmo clearly didn't care who Snap attacked. Penny cried out in pain when Snap's fists hit her on the forehead, causing a slight crack in one of her glass lenses. She rolled across the floor, her hand against her face. She struggled to her feet and looked up at Mr. Cosmo hatefully.

"It is quite amazing that you refuse to swing a punch to save yourselves. Yet, Snap here, under my control, will do anything to you, no matter how horrifying. If I command it, he will do it. And he has no say in the matter. He has no rights." Mr. Cosmo said calmly. He smirked as the two teens glared at him. Even Snap managed to shoot him a glare despite his body being rigid from being controlled. "But I should have seen this coming... You are obviously friends with him, and friends don't fight friends. I thought that I'd make you break quicker if I allowed Snap self awareness during this, Rudy Tabootie..."

"You monster..." Rudy said in a low growl.

Mr. Cosmo scratched his chin thoughtfully. He had a twinkle in his eyes. Penny shuddered. That didn't look good. He must have something on his mind, and knowing what he did, it had to be something horrible.

And she was soon proven right.

"So if fighting against a helpless Snap who can't stop himself from hurting his creator and friend won't work on you two..." The man straightened himself up and held up the remote like he was presenting it in front of an audience. "...perhaps I should try wiping his mind and replacing it with something more hostile, like my own Draow..." A grin spread across his face.

The teenager's faces paled at the same time. They watched, in horror, as Cosmo started putting pressure on the button. "No!"

sss

Ms. Saffron had stopped trying to unlock the door. She wasn't giving up totally. But she needed another plan. By the time she would be able to open the door, something terrible may have already happened. She had no idea what was going on, but she imagined Mr. Cosmo was well on his way with his plan. She had to figure out some way to slow him down, but doing that while locked up was not going to be easy.

It didn't help knowing that he did have one more plan after this. The final attempt at swaying Rudy, and should it fail...she gulped, not wanting to think about it. She actually didn't know what would happen if the next part would fail, nor did she actually know completely what it entailed. But the way Cosmo said it would be a 'final attempt' told her something horrible would happen if that plan to sway Rudy to his side failed.

She would have a better idea of knowing how long she had if she could access the security cameras. Mr. Cosmo had a lot of them in this building. They were nothing like the usual security cameras. They did not rotate and were placed flat on the walls. They blended in quite well so one wouldn't notice unless they got a good look.

Saffron could try hacking the cameras. Doing so would help her understand the situation and be able to act accordingly. And if she could manage to hack the cameras, maybe she can also hack other things in the system as well.

But would this even be a successful plan? She wasn't much of a hacker herself. She didn't know enough to do basic hacking. Perhaps that plan would fail...

...until she remembered something Mr. Cosmo had done for her. As they were preparing this place for this...this so-called expedition he promised her, he had given her phone a link up capability for the system of this place. The whole purpose of it was so that, in the case of an emergency, she would have a limited amount of time, say a few minutes, to give orders to different parts of the building's systems.

Mr. Cosmo had said that it is only to be used sparingly, and so far she never used it. He had believed there would be a time where they would not be able to access a part of this facility in time, so remote activation and control became a key part in this wretched place. Mr. Cosmo had trusted her enough to give her this capability. And though her trust in him had waned, she hoped that his trust remained in tact and he hadn't cut off her connection to the system network.

She got out her cellphone. Though it had no service, that was only in relation to calling out. Her phone could still work in this building, hooking up to the network. She went through her apps until she found the one she needed. She opened it up and was greeted with a pale green screen with login information.

It took her a few moments to remember what her information was. She hadn't logged in since Mr. Cosmo assigned her this info and had her log in as a test. She typed in the criteria, her username, password, and some additional info Cosmo had put in for extra security. Although she was afraid that she slipped something up or wouldn't remember, she still typed in what she believed were the answers.

Then she sat on the bed and waited. The swirling loading screen appeared before her, the same one that had greeted her the first time she did this. Around and around the loading swirl thing went. She licked her lips in anticipation. She crossed her fingers.

"Come on...come on..." She said through clenched teeth. "Connect. Please connect..."

The screen beeped and flickered once. It went dark. Saffron wondered if she had done something wrong. Her phone looked almost as if it had died. Before her spirits could fall too low, the screen light up again and she was greeted with a welcome screen and then it immediately went into an options section.

Ms. Saffron felt a wave of relief and happiness hit her. She couldn't focus too much on it, though. She had something important to do. She focused her attention on the phone, using her finger to flip through the different settings and options that were available to her.

She finally found a bit about security cameras. There were a lot, but to keep things minimal, they were placed in different groups, depending on the location of said cameras. She wasn't entirely sure where Mr. Cosmo would be, but she had a pretty good idea. She decided to try that area first. She pressed the button for the particular group and saw options to look at the different cameras.

Trying to pick one camera to look at was hard. She couldn't just look at all of them. Her cellphone, though a decent size, would not be able to handle all those images. They would be so small, she wouldn't be able to tell what they are. It was a gample and she had a feeling she would be far too late if she wasted time and tried again should she fail. She stared at the cameras, her heart pounding. What if she slipped up? What if she picked the wrong camera? What if...

No she couldn't worry about that. Not now. She had to make a decision, and it had to be swift. She pressed the middle camera without thinking. The screen loaded up.

She felt herself smile broadly for a brief second as she realized it was the right camera. She could see the room where Rudy and Penny were. But any happiness she felt faded when she saw Snap standing there, trembling and staring up at Mr. Cosmo. Snap looked worse than she last saw him. He was more banged up and it looked like his back wound started to reopen. She looked up at where Mr. Cosmo was.

Her eyes widened in horror when she saw what he was about to do. He couldn't honestly be considering doing that...could he? Was he really so heartless that he would...delete Snap's personality, for a lack of a better term? She wished she could keep this screen open, but to take action, she had to leave it.

Not knowing if she was going to make it or not, she went through the other options in this app. She found one regarding the machinery of the place. There was just one in particular she wanted. The same one that the white bear had been dragged off to. Once she found its information, she knew exactly what she was going to do.

She just hoped that she would do it in time...

sss

Mr. Cosmo felt triumphant as he sneered down at Rudy and Penny. With a single push of the button, he was going to completely destroy all that Snap was, and without doing permanent damage to his body. He would have his mind altered to suit what he needed.

He really didn't want it to come to this. As much as he looked gleeful, he was genuinely disappointed that he had to resort to such an act to make Rudy listen to him. He honestly liked the teenager. He felt he had true potential. There was so much he was capable of doing and being. But his attachment to the chalk people was going to hold him back.

The only thing that would disappoint him even more was if he had to resort to the final plan regarding Snap. It would be the true last effort. He had a way of preparing for the future, for outcomes that may not be possible. Granted, this didn't mean things wouldn't take him by surprise. But being able to find workarounds and having multiple plans to achieve the same goal was always a good thing.

It wasn't like he truly cared about Snap in the end. If he ended up doing irreversable damage to him, so what? He understood zoners were alive. He hid this well from the children, and from Ms. Saffron. His experiences in ChalkZone years ago and recently did make him realize this as a fact. The memories that had been returning to him ever since he saw that photograph Ms. Saffron had, they had been truly helpful. Things he had long forgotten about ChalkZone came to light for him.

So yes, he knew just how alive the zoners were. But to him, that didn't mean much. There was a difference between being alive and being worthy. And to him, the zoners weren't worthy of anything, no rights, except the right to serve their creators. ChalkZone could be used for so many useful purposes, yet it laid dormant. He was not going to allow this for much longer. He was going to unlock this chalk world's true potential.

And he was going to prove how little he cared about the well being of things that he saw were best used, not befriended. He loved the look in the teenager's eyes, even more the look that Snap was giving him. They were pleading with him to stop, begging him not to do it. It did nothing to sway him. Unless Rudy agreed to join him, nothing would stop him from pressing the button.

As he watched Snap recoil in fear and Rudy and Penny glare hatefully at him, he started to press the button.

"Beanie Boys! Beanie Boys! We're the boys that Skrawl employs!"

This took him by complete surprise. Even the trio down below were just as shocked as he was. Crashing in through the door were three Beanie Boys. Much to Cosmo's confusion, they were still wearing their bracelets. And they were still working. But why had they come in here? He hadn't given them any order.

The three Beanie Boys closed in around him. They didn't try to grab him. They were doing whatever they could to get his attention. They continued singing their nonsensical song as they tugged at his business suit, his hair, and his sleeves, whater they could to keep him distracted.

Mr. Cosmo swatted at them. "Get away from me!" He flinched when he said this. He was losing part of his calm demeanor. He had to remain as tranquil as possible. If he lost control...

A second later, he got another shock. Skrawl himself came in from the opening the Beanie Boys left. Just like them, he was still being controlled. Mr. Cosmo knew something fishy was going on. His first thought was that someone hacked the system. He would think of the possibilities later, however. Right now, he had to take care of this problem.

Skrawl rammed against him before he had time to react. Mr. Cosmo's eyes widened slightly as the remote was knocked clean out of his hands. It slammed against the forcefield. There was a crackling sound and he knew that the remote had been damaged beyond use.

Mr. Cosmo glared at Skrawl. He kicked the jellybean-like thing in the stomach. He ignored his cries, as well as Rudy's shouts of pain as he fell to his knees. Mr. Cosmo looked over at the other zoners he could see from here. None of the others were exhibiting this behavior. That was good. He could take care of these anomolies no problem. He just had to round them up and...

He fell into the ground as the Beanie Boys pressed against him. He struggled against their grasp. Letting out an uncharacteristic shout of frustration, he kicked one of the Beanie Boys as hard as he could. He ignored the sickening crunch as the chalk creature fell to the ground, limp. As if in retaliation, Skrawl lunged at him and pressed him against the shield.

The sudden impact was enough to daze Mr. Cosmo. He heard the sound of Skrawl's bracelet cracking and breaking off. The jellybean was freed. Mr. Cosmo slowly got up, his world dizzy and blurred. He heard something crank downward. He heard footsteps running away. He swore he heard Skrawl and Rudy bickering as they ran.

Mr. Cosmo slumped down and leaned against the shield. His eyes laid on the still fallen form of the Beanie Boy he had kicked. He needed to rest. When he felt better, he was going to get behind what had happened, and he would make sure Rudy and Snap never leave this building. Penny, she was a whole different story...

sss

Ms. Saffron stared at her phone as it did its work. She hoped that she was on time. The commands she sent were convoluted at best. But there wasn't much else she could do. The only way to keep Snap from being controlled was to destroy the machine, which she had no way of doing. But sending a cavalry...that may just do the trick, or so she hoped.

She would resume her picking of the lock soon. She needed to look through the system again. She needed to see if there was anything she could find out that would be helpful. Something that may help turn the tides in everything. Her plan, if it worked, would only be temporary. There had to be a more permanent solution, and if there was, she bet she could find it in the system's own database.

She remembered she had been given his account information, not just her own, because he trusted her enough with his information. He had given it to her before she got her own account, though she had never once used it. He had given her an account of her own as his trust in her increased. She doubted he would change his password if he still trusted her that much. And right now, he was so focused with Rudy that there was the chance that his mind slipped and he didn't take precautions with his account.

She would have to do this quickly. She signed out of her account and logged into his. The same screen popped up, only there was an additional option. A section of documentations. Looking at the first one, she realized that Mr. Cosmo often typed up his plans so he could have an idea of what he's do and how he'd counter situations that may make it hard or impossible to fulfill his plan the way he wanted it.

As she skimmed through the documentations, one in particular caught her eye. The title of the document was 'Beware Of Him'. It couldn't be Rudy. Mr. Cosmo was not afraid of the boy. The title made her think it was someone that Cosmo had dealt with in the past. But who...?

She opened it up and read it. Her eyes skimmed left and right. She let out a gasp, nearly dropping her phone. She quickly shut it off and she fell to her knees. The impact of what she had just learned hit her like a sack of potatoes. It...it could be...could it...?

"I...I-I just...I can't believe it..." She breathed. She got up to return to picking the lock of the door. It was imperative she inform Rudy as soon as possible. This information...could turn the odds in their favor.


	21. I Am Fully Prepared

Navigating the hallways was not going to be easy. Rudy knew this very well. Still, they had to keep moving. He had no idea how Skrawl and the Beanie Boys came to the rescue. They had been controlled by Cosmo and he doubted the man would have them attack him when things were going in his favor. Some outside force helped them.

He silently wondered if it was the artist that faced Cosmo in the past. Maybe he still had his memories in tact and finally realized what was going on and gave them a helping hand. Whoever had helped them, Rudy would be sure to give them a big thank you.

When the gate had opened, while Mr. Cosmo was still distracted with the remaining two Beanie Boys, Rudy called out to the others, including Skrawl, to run. Snap didn’t seem to be controlled anymore and could move to his own accord. Penny helped him up to his feet and let him ride on her back. She held his legs while he put his arms around her neck. It was the only way he could be held without hurting him.

A few minutes after they started running, Snap had closed his eyes. Rudy couldn’t blame him. The forced battle earlier took a lot out of him. The poor guy deserved a rest. This brief moment of relief would do him good, and give him some time to heal, even if it’s just a little bit. Rudy only wished that they were out of the building so he can give Snap a place to lay down. Getting out of this building was going to be a challenge...

This place was quite massive and there were so many ways to turn. Rudy couldn’t tell which path to take. He had a hard time remembering the way that Mr. Cosmo had led them. No matter which hallway he went down, nothing seemed familiar. He was greeted with more and more disturbing imagery. More blood on the ground. More zombie-like zoners walking about. Some hideous machinery being built. He thought he saw some large weapons as well. It was like this man was preparing for war...could that be true?

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. They reached a deadend. Well almost. They could go left or right. Rudy chose left. Either way had the same potential of giving the same result; going somewhere they didn’t know. Nothing looked familiar to him. And it was frustrating. The others were following close behind him. He knew they were counting on him to find the way out. Well maybe not Skrawl. He was only following him because he didn’t have much of a choice.

When they came around another corner, everyone froze. Rudy widened his eyes. They all realized they had gone in a big circle. They were back where they were a short time ago. Rudy didn’t know how it happened. He had made sure to take different routes as they traveled through. How did they all end up back here? Had Mr. Cosmo designed this place like some giant maze? Maybe if they had a map or something...

“Oh brillian plan, Rudy Tabootie!” Skrawl shouted. He walked up to Rudy and pressed a chalky finger against the boy’s chest. “You’ve been leading us around and around! Are you sure you’re trying to get us out of this dump, or are you trying to get us caught again?”

Rudy glared at Skrawl and took a step back. “Hey, don’t blame me for this, Skrawl! I’m doing the best I can!”

Skrawl wasn’t backing down that easily. “Why don’t you draw one of your fancy gizmo things? Or are you afraid that they will not work? Just....like...Craniac...” He said in a low growl.

“I can’t draw things in the real world, Skrawl!” Rudy paused. “Well I can, but they don’t come to life here. Magic chalk’s powers only work in ChalkZone! You should know that!”

Skrawl blinked a few times. He looked flustered, like he realized Rudy was right. But Rudy didn’t expect him to admit it. Skrawl was not the type to admit when he was in the wrong, even when pointed right out to him. This situation would be no different.

“I...well...I knew that!” Skrawl managed to say with a stutter. His brief falter didn’t last very long. He spoke angrily to Rudy, “That is no excuse! If you have no idea where you were going then you shouldn’t have...”

Rudy interrupted him, “Oh and we should let you lead?”

“My brilliant plan, whatever one I come up with, would work like a charm!” Skrawl said. The level of arrogance was, though not on the same level as Cosmo’s, amazing, especially given what had just happened to the jellybean recently. “I could have led you creators out of here a while ago!”

“You don’t know this place either! You know about as much as I do!” Rudy was getting steamed. He couldn’t believe how Skrawl was acting. They were running for their lives, and he still had the gaul to blame Rudy for their troubles and debate with him on who was a better leader. “If you were leading, we would be in the same situation! Or perhaps you would have us straight into a trap! At least I’ve been trying to be careful of where I step. But you...you would just rush down a hallway without a second thought!”

Skrawl raised a hand. He stopped when he clearly realized that hitting Rudy would hurt him too. He resorted to a roar of anger and frustration. He stomped on the ground near Rudy, causing the boy to jump back.

“No I would not! I....” Skrawl paused. “Okay fine I haven’t always made the best choices. But what makes you so much better, Master Tabootie? We wouldn’t be lost if you knew where you were going!”

Rudy shouted, “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t tried capturing the beast!”

Rudy felt himself get angrier by the second at Skrawl. As he said that last line, which came out more aggressively than he had planned, made him realize that a lot of this was Skrawl’s fault. If he hadn’t tried capturing Draow, if he had left the beast alone, they might not have ended up like this. Snap wouldn’t have been captured. He and Penny would not have ended up here. He and Skrawl would not have been connected.

The more he thought about it, he more he realized just how much Skrawl played a part in all this. Although he understood that none of this Skrawl had foreseen or intended, his anger continued to grow strong. If it weren’t for this stupid jellybean, Snap would be okay. He wouldn’t have been turned into a puppet for Cosmo to toy with. Things may have taken a better turn if Skrawl hadn’t been so stupid and...

“That’s enough, you two!” Penny shouted, interrupting Rudy’s thoughts. She placed herself between the two, forcing them to separate. “This isn’t the time for your petty arguments! We need to get out of here, and we never will if we stand around and bicker to each other!”

Rudy felt his anger melt away. Penny was right. They couldn’t argue. They would only be wasting time. And even if Skrawl had been a major cause in what transpired, he knew that constantly blaming him would not solve anything. It would only slow them down. He needed to worry about how to get out of here, not point fingers at anyone, not even someone like Skrawl.

“I’m sorry, Penny...” Rudy said, letting out a sigh. “I don’t know what got into me...”

“I understand you are upset. I don’t blame you.” Penny said in an understanding tone. “But right now, you need to focus on solving the problem, not creating a new one...”

“Yeah I know.” Rudy said softly.

He looked over at Snap. He was still asleep, resting the side of his head on Penny’s shoulder. Despite all that had happened to him recently, he looked peaceful as he slept. Rudy would have smiled if he didn’t know the dire situation that Snap, and all of them, were in. They didn’t know how long Snap would be freed of the mind control. If they could just get into ChalkZone and get to a hospital...

...that was it. Rudy realized what he had been doing wrong. He shouldn’t be trying to find an exit in the form of a door. He should be finding one in the form of a chalkboard. That would make their search a little easier. If they checked all the rooms, then maybe they could escape into ChalkZone. He did have a small piece of magic chalk with him. It should be more than enough.

He peered down the hallway they had been in before. It kinda curved a little before straightening out ahead. Before, they had gone left down this hallway. He decided to go right this time. Gesturing for the others to follow, they head down. Rudy still walked with caution on his mind, but now he was looking not for another hallway, but instead rooms.

The rooms in this building had windows on them, just like the one he and Penny came in from. This would make finding the right one easier. He was afraid of just opening up any door. There could be someone hiding behind these doors. Or traps awaiting. He’d rather risk springing just one trap rather than multiple traps. One trap was much easier to deal with.

“Look in each room.” Rudy said. “Look for a chalkboard. It will be much faster getting out that way.”

The group split up, but kept in the same hallway so they could get back to each other quickly. They checked the rooms in the hallway. One by one, the rooms on the left side and right side were checked. The hallway was long. Rudy was certain that at least one of them would have a means of escape. Mr. Cosmo surely had more than one chalkboard. With all that he managed to do...

But the more they looked, the more dejected they became. None of the rooms had any chalkboards in them. There were things in those rooms, things they would rather not think about or see again. But nothing in regards to a chalkboard.

Rudy wasn’t about to give up. There were other hallways they could check. And they had made good distance from Mr. Cosmo. Even if he figured out where they were, it would still take some time to get to them. There was still time.

Suddenly, a horrible laughter sounded out. The group paused and looked around for the source. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. They didn’t move from their spots. The laughter just continued. It was sick and disturbing. It sounded like Mr. Cosmo, but his voice never sounded this twisted and disturbing before.

“Do you really think I’m stupid?”

Rudy shuddered at the sound of this voice. “Mr. Cosmo...where are you?!” He looked around the hallways, trying to find which one the madman was hiding in.

“I am in the security room. I can see exactly where you are.” Mr. Cosmo announced, still chuckling as he spoke.

Skrawl growled and raised a fist. “Why don’t you come here and face me? Nobody messes with Skrawl and gets away with it! Let’s see how tough you are if you face me head on!”

“Oh on the contrary, Skrawl...” Mr. Cosmo droned. “I have a better idea. But first let’s get rid of some...unwanted weight...”

Snap let out a scream as the sparkling returned. Rudy watched in horror as he realized what this meant. Cosmo had regained control of his friend. Penny cried out when Snap’s grip on her tightened. He forced her onto the ground and began to drag her over somewhere.

“Wh-what are you...” Snap whimpered as he struggled to release Penny. It was no use.

“Stop this!” Rudy yelled. “Let Penny and Snap go!”

But he knew that Cosmo would not listen. He rushed over as fast as he could. Snap punched him back with his injured hand. Rudy touched his face, seeing the chalky blood sticking to the skin. He glanced back and realized, with horror, that the cuts were bleeding more heavily now. The cuts were getting much worse. He could see Snap shed a tear due to the pain, and the fear of what was happening.

Rudy tried again. But he was too late. A large grap door opened up. Despite all efforts to stop himself, Snap picked up the struggling Penny and tossed her down. Mr. Cosmo did not stop there. Another trap door opened. Snap walked robotically over to it. Rudy grabbed onto Snap’s uninjured hand and tried to pull him back.

“No..I’m not losing Snap again..no!”

“Oh no...I won’t be having that.” Mr. Cosmo said.

As soon as he said this, Snap yanked his hand away, jerking Rudy forward and into the ground. Snap’s pace quickened into a run. Rudy ran over, holding out his hand, calling out Snap’s name. Likewise, Snap cried out desperately for Rudy to help him. But it was all in vain. Snap jumped down the hole, and it closed up as Rudy reached it.

Rudy couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening. No...he just got Snap back. He couldn’t be gone again. “No...”

Tears began to stream down his face. His body trembled. He slammed the ground right here the door had closed. “No!”

Rudy felt his spirits getting crushed. They had Snap back. A part of him knew that, eventually, Cosmo would snatch him away. But he had tried to deny it. He didn’t want to believe that, after all their efforts, Snap would be taken away just like that. And that is what had happened. Cosmo regained control and now he took away not only Snap, but Penny too. What had he done with her? Did he just boot her out of the building like his parents, or did he do something horrible to her?

Although Skrawl was in the room with him, that was of no comfort. The monsterous jellybean could not fathom what he was feeling. He only cared about himself. He didn’t understand why Rudy was so upset. Of all the people Rudy had to get stuck with, Skrawl was the last person he wanted. Although the jellybean didn’t talk, Rudy can just imagine all the insults and mockery that went on inside his mind.

Rudy was so distraught that he did not notice when Skrawl walked up towards him. When he finally took notice, Skrawl had walked out in front of him a little. He was pressing his foot against the door that had opened up. He seemed to be testing it.

“What are you doing?” Rudy asked as he wiped away his tears. If he was going to be stuck with Skrawl, he might as well make the best of it. “We need to...”

“I am checking to see how it feels.” Skrawl said, cutting off Rudy. “If I can judge how normal ground feels, and this, I could get us around the trap doors.”

“That’s...a good idea.” Rudy said. He was surprised he said that. He never thought he would call any of Skrawl’s plans ‘good’.

Skrawl smirked at him. “Of course it is! My plans are always so brilliant!”

It was too soon to celebrate. The two of them realized that too late. Skrawl had not gotten the time to familiarize himself with normal vs trap door ground. If he had, he would have gotten Rudy and himself out of the way before the ground below them opened up. It happened so fast, neither of them had time to give even a simple reaction.

The two of them ended up in what Rudy guessed was a winding tunnel. He felt them jerk left and right. It felt very much like a water slide, only without water and not so pleasant. They screamed in fear as the tunnel twisted and turned almost violently. Sometimes it would slow down, other times it would pick up without warning.

Then they finally saw light down below them. They fell through the opening and landed hard on the ground. They coughed and picked themselves off the ground. They looked around. They were in a relatively large room. In many places, they could see pillars of stone rise up, forming square shapes.

And Rudy realized they were in one such square.

“Hurry, we need to get out of here!” Rudy called out to Skrawl. “I don’t know what he plans on doing, but...”

“Stop!” Skrawl shouted in a voice so uncharacteristically frightened.

Rudy snatched his hand away when he saw what had scared Skrawl. Just seconds after they had arrived, something activated in the pillars. Water swooshed all around them, forming liquid bars. That was bad enough, at least for Skrawl as he was chalk based. But something else was added to ensure that Rudy himself could not escape. He saw waves of yellow electricity merge with the water. The electricity crackled and danced among the water. It spread across quickly, leaving no water bar untouched.

Rudy felt his heart pounding. The realization of what happened sunk in. A terrified expression plastered across his face. He glanced at Skrawl. Though the jellybean tried to hide it, he could tell he was afraid as well. Rudy felt a pang as he heard Cosmo’s voice again.

“As you can see, I am fully prepared...Now you two rest there. I will be down soon to...negotiate with you, Rudy Tabootie. Maybe you will be more willing to listen to me if I gave you a...bigger incentive...”

Rudy shuddered as he wondered what Mr. Cosmo had in mind this time.


	22. ChalkZone Is Meant To Be Used

Snap had never been so scared in his life. He was in a small cage comprised of electrified water bars. Cosmo said he had something special in mind for him and had left Snap alone. Snap curled up in a ball and trembled in a combination of fear and pain as his eyes strained to see the nail in his head.

The nail, this thing in his head that was controlling him, it hurt so badly every time it was activated. And he had no idea when it would be. And even when it wasn't in use, even when it was not shooitng him full of electricity, it still ached. It was going straight into his brain. Of course it would hurt. He wanted so much to touch and rub the area, but he feared doing so could result in permanent brain damage.

He would never forget when it was first placed inside of him. It was a scarring moment that was etched into his head. Not just because of the imagery, but the pain that was associated with it.

When he woke up, he found himself strapped a table. There was a large laser over him. But the laser was not his concern, as Mr. Cosmo walked in and said he was not going to use it. At first, Snap thought that was a good thing. But then he soon realized Cosmo had something else in mind, which was no less traumatic.

When Snap first saw the nail, he wasn't sure what to think of it. He noted the little lights on it and even thought it looked pretty. Confusion and anxiety replaced his curiosity when Mr. Cosmo placed the tip on his forehead. He felt the thing prick him, but it wasn't too bad, especially compared to the horrible pain in his back.

When Snap asked what it was for, Cosmo gleefully informed him that it was going to be used to control him. Snap thought it was a joke and laughed at him. Snap had a hard time believing a measly little nail was going to make him do anything. It wasn't even that sharp. It could barely pierce his skin. And even if it did, it was way too long. It would fall off the front of his face and he could make his getaway.

Things stopped being funny really fast when Mr. Cosmo came up to him with two tools. A scalpel and an eyedropper... Snap tried to scoot away. He couldn't go anywhere with the cuffs holding him down. He demanded the man to tell him what he thinks he is doing. Now it was Mr. Cosmo's turn to laugh, short but filled with more cruelty than Snap ever heard in his life. And it was right then, he had an idea of what this man was about to do to him.

With a swift motion of his hand, Mr. Cosmo grabbed his face and kept it pressed against the board. He brought up the scalpel. Snap closed his eyes and braced for the pain. He felt the cold metal slice into his head. He let out a cry of pain which turned into a few low whines as Mr. Cosmo cut a small opening in his head. Fresh chalky blood dripped down.

But that was nothing compared to what Mr. Cosmo did next. What happened right after that was the true nightmare of the experience.

Mr. Cosmo took the eyedropper and held it above the open wound. He squeezed the end of it, forcing out a small, concentrated droplet of water on the cut. In an instant, Snap's eyes grew huge and he started to thrash wildly against the cuffs. The water droplet began to sink down into his skull. Mr. Cosmo, getting tired of hearing Snap's screams of agony, covered the zoner's mouth tightly and told him to shut up. Snap continued to let out whimpers, tears falling from his eyes, as the droplet continued to cut into his chalky head.

Only when the droplet reached the spot Cosmo wanted did the man use a cloth to wipe away the water to keep it from going down further. Still holding Snap's mouth shut, Mr. Cosmo pushed the nail into Snap's head. The pain was excruciating, just as bad as when the water was there. Cosmo pushed the nail harder and harder, driving it deeper into his head. Pain overwhelmed Snap. Unable to take it any longer, Snap fainted from the pain for the second time that day.

Snap looked at his face in the reflection of the real world water that kept him trapped here. There was still a bit of blood caked around the nail that was practically pounded into him. Even if he got it removed, the memory of the pain would still be there. Nothing would make him forget that. Nothing...

He laid back on the ground. His mind thought about the recent events. He still didn't have a strong idea of what was going on. He knew more now than he did, but he didn't get why Mr. Cosmo was doing this. What compelled him to be so...so monsterous? So vile? And why him? Why did he want him in particular? Why Rudy? Why was he interested in Rudy?

He started to think about how unfair it was all this was happening. What had he ever done to deserve this? What had Rudy, Penny...what had any of them done to deserve such a terrible fate? Snap used to be so confident, so willing to throw himself into battle if need be. But right now, he was a broken shadow of his former self. Pain does a lot to a person. Snap wished that the pain would go away. Only sleep would do that, and even then, it is just temporary. The moment he would wake up, he would be washed over by the agony again.

He felt so bad fighting against his two friends. Although he understood that they knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, it still hurt him mentally nonetheless. He was grateful that it stopped for a time. It felt nice being able to be physically close to his friends without his body working against him to hurt them.

But then the nightmare resumed. And he was helpless as he dragged Penny off to be thrown down some tunnel. He wanted to jump in after her to make sure she was okay. But his body walked off, and he was tossed down another...

What made that hurt him more than before was that, during the fight, at least he could see what he was doing. But when Penny fell, he didn't know where she was going to land. He didn't know if she was going to be okay, if she was going to get hurt. He knew nothing. And that scared him to his very core. He hoped, prayed that she was all right.

He tried to remain hopeful. Rudy would find a way out of this. He always did. Snap didn't want to give up hope completely. His pal Rudy would fix things somehow. He didn't know how. But he was confident that he would make things better in some way. If staying here had done him any good, is that he encountered confirmation that, in the midst of danger, there is some light.

His thoughts trailed to Ms. Saffron. He thought she wasn't that bad. Even given what he found out, a part of him couldn't hate her for it. He did like talking with her. Her presence, though cautious in nature, was a nice change of pace. Whenever she wasn't there, he was all alone. He didn't like being alone. He could handle being in his own house, his own bed for the night, but that was because he could wake up and find someone to talk to. As a prisoner here, the only one he could ever talk to was Ms. Saffron, and she could never stay for long.

He did feel somewhat betrayed by her when he found out she was keeping something from him. He didn't understand why she didn't tell him. It didn't matter, did it? He wasn't going anywhere. Telling him would not have changed a thing. Well, it would have made things a little easier on him. Knowing what was coming would have made him a little less anxious and less surprised when Mr. Cosmo drilled this nail into his head.

Though he was disappointed in her, he still couldn't feel too angry at her. She did look regretful, like she suddenly realized what she did was wrong. If that were the case, then she really wasn't as bad as he initially thought. Maybe she would come around, realize the error of her ways, and help him and the others.

He just hoped that it wouldn't be too late by the time she decided to do that...

He jerked his head up when he heard foosteps. He cringed when he saw Mr. Cosmo walk into the room, smiling slyly down at him. Snap would have run away if he could. But he was trapped.

"Don't worry...I am not going to do this yet. But pretty soon, you will have an...unforgettable experience..." Mr. Cosmo said in a frightening voice. His smile tightened Snap got up to his feet and took a step back. "I still have confidence in you, Snap. I truly believe that you will turn the tides in my favor. You will be the one to convince Rudy to join me...so I may train him. The boy still has much to learn yet..."

"Wh-why would Rudy ever want to join you?" Snap retorted weakly.

Mr. Cosmo's eyes glinted. "Because..." He reached behind his back to grab something out of Snap's sight. "The boy is attached to you...and when he sees this..." Mr. Cosmo held something up to Snap.

Snap gasped and took a step away from the man. "No...Y-You can't do that..."

Mr. Cosmo smirked. "This...will ensure I get any deal I want out of the boy...And if he doesn't agree..."

He put his face close to the electric water bars. Snap took another step back only to fall onto the ground. He looked up at Mr. Cosmo with fearful disbleief in his eyes.

"You will die."

sss

"I can't believe I'm stuck with the artist boy again!" Skrawl complained as he paced along a corner of the cage.

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "I'm not happy about this either."

"This is the worst day of my life!" Skrawl shouted, raising his fists into the air. "I should be in ChalkZone! With you out of the way, my victory would be assured!"

Rudy grumbled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Skrawl."

"Oh you doubt my brilliance, Master Tabootie?"

"It was your brilliance that got us here in the first place, Skrawl." Rudy growled at him. He leaned against one of the stone pillars, holding out his hand as he spoke mockingly, "Oh let's just stand there and stomp on the ground! Oh I should capture this hideous beast! Even though it appeared out of nowhere and is causing a lot of damage, I am sure everything will turn out swell if I command it! Because I am always right!"

Skrawl didn't reply. He growled in frustration and walked away.

Rudy shot him a glare. It was uncharacteristic for him to put so much blame on one person. But the stress of everything that has happened made it difficult to avoid. It put pressure on him, and he needed to let some of it out. And nothing he said about Skrawl was untrue. He did chase the beast, which prompted him and Snap to act. That caused him and Skrawl to get connected while Snap was kidnapped. That led him to be confronted by Mr. Cosmo, then all this...

It was amazing how much had happened all because Skrawl wanted to play rodeo with Draow. Although he was certain that this all would have happened in some way regardless of Skrawl's role, it kinda made him feel a little better believing Skrawl was responsible. And it was because if he continued believing that, then it was easy to believe that all of this was preventable.

He was very worried about Penny and Snap. He hoped they would be okay. He didn't know what Mr. Cosmo planned to do to her. And Snap...he knew Mr. Cosmo was going to use Snap to make him convert. Would he do the same with Penny too? Would he threaten her as well? It was bad enough this man was willing to hurt and torture one of his friends for the sake of this plan. But two...he didn't want to imagine what that would be like.

Snap had been through so much already. He shouldn't have to endure more of this nightmare. It was Rudy he wanted. Why did he have to torment his friend? Why couldn't he just let Snap go? Why couldn't he leave Penny alone? Why do all this just to get to his head?

Because Cosmo was a monster. That was the conclusion he came up with. He never met anyone before who he would call a complete monster. The closest would be Skrawl, but even he hadn't gone the lengths that Mr. Cosmo did. As much as Rudy feared Cosmo, he also hated him. He hated the man's guts and he wanted to make him pay for everything that he did.

But he couldn't do anything caged up like this. Stuck in the real world, there was no way he would be able to use his creator powers to stop Mr. Cosmo. If they were in the chalk world, he wouldn't be so helpless. He'd be able to fight back.

Rudy tried to keep himself calm. He tried telling himself that yelling at the man wouldn't do him any good. But anger and worry were getting the best of him. He took a defensive stance, as if somehow that would make Mr. Cosmo back away.

"What have you done with Penny and Snap?!" Rudy demanded through clenched teeth. "If you hurt them, I swear I'll..."

Mr. Cosmo held up a hand. "Calm down, little boy. Penny is safe. I just merely...showed her the way out. I didn't bother erasing her memory like I had with your parents. She won't be able to get back into the building quick enough to help you. She will be too late..." He smiled as Rudy's frown deepened. "And as for your little blue friend... You will see him soon enough."

"Don't you fucking dare hurt him!" Rudy threatened. He would have grabbed the bars if he wasn't afraid of getting electrocuted.

"Again with the language... You really are becoming quite a foul mouthed child. Look what you've done to yourself, Tabootie. You're becoming...dark...kinda like me..." Mr. Cosmo chortled in an almost playful tone. He took a step back when Rudy fit his arm between two water bars and tried to grab him. "You outta be careful there. Is it really worth killing yourself to get to me? I don't think it is..."

Rudy didn't want to hear anymore of this. He wanted Cosmo to go away. He was the last person, if he could even be called that, he wanted to see. The way he had taken Penny away...the way he had tortured Snap... He wanted nothing more to do with this monster. He turned his back to him.

"Turning around is not going to make this negotiation any easier. Look at me."

The command was soft, unusually friendly for Mr. Cosmo. Rudy flinched, unaccustomed to Cosmo sounding nice. He refused to turn around.

"Rudy..." Cosmo's voice was calm. "I know you can hear me. Turn around and look at me."

Still, Rudy ignored him. He caught Skrawl's expression. The jellybean was clearly confused by what was going on. He was glad Skrawl was hanging back instead of interrupting. He would likely say something to make things worse. He could get himself into trouble. As much as he didn't like Skrawl, he was not going to let Mr. Cosmo try to use him again.

Suddenly, Mr. Cosmo yelled at him. The voice was a little deeper than usual. It was full of menace. It made Rudy tremble in fear as soon as he heard it.

"Turn around right now!"

Despite his better judgment, Rudy slowly turned around to face Mr. Cosmo. And as fast as Cosmo became angry, he swiftly became pleasant again. It was...unnerving.

"Now isn't that better?" Mr. Cosmo said, smiling. "So much easier talking this way, don't you think?"

Rudy was still startled at how quick this man could change his demeanor. It was so flawless, not jarring. It was smooth, as if he was an excellent actor. While he wouldn't doubt that he was, something else frightened Rudy about this. Was this an effect of the black chalk? Is this what black chalk does to artists? In addition to making them hostile, did it make them creepy like hell, like Mr. Cosmo was?

"I do have confidence that you will one day see things the way I do, Rudy. Sooner or later...that will happen..." Mr. Cosmo said with a sneer. "You see...I've learned to be...quite patient. My experience as a reporter has told me that good things come to those who wait. I learned to be patient with my job, and I got better. If it takes forever, I will stick to a plan. Yes, boy, I am that tenacious."

Rudy took a step back. "I will never be like you..."

"But you're already starting to be like me." Mr. Cosmo was clearly amused by all this. "And if you paid attention, you will see that."

"You're wrong!" Rudy shouted. "I am not like you!"

"We will see about that soon enough... Now onto business... I believe you will come to understand things the way I do. You must understand...I am not doing this out of spite. I have my reasons..." Mr. Cosmo said in a calm voice. His voice got a tinge of excitement as he continued. "ChalkZone has so much potential... The chalk creatures you are so fond of, they are more resilient than normal living things. As long as I keep them fed and hydrated and away from real world liquid, they could live forever. They would be excellent subjects in a lot of areas...don't you think?"

Rudy felt his heart pound. Was this man suggesting...experimentation on living people? To Cosmo, zoners were not people, or at least not worthy of rights in his eyes. But Rudy knew just how wrong he was. To suggest using zoners for such a thing it was...horrible. And to act it out, it was unredeemable.

Mr. Cosmo wasn't finished. "Even if you do not join me, dear boy, I am already well on my way to fulfilling my plans. I am going to revolutionize modern society with these...beings made of chalk. What you've seen them do there is but a taste of what I have in store for them. Imagine, kid, a world where human labor workers are done away with, replaced with expendable chalk things..."

"Expendable?! Is that all they are to you?!" Rudy yelled at him. "You...you're an abomination! These are living people you are talking of exploiting! What gives you the right to do this to them? What have they done to deserve this? Answer me that!"

Mr. Cosmo stared blankly at Rudy for about a minute. The silence was uneasy and tense. The creepy smile came back on the man's face.

"You need to tame that temper of yours. Anger will cloud your judgment. If you chill, you will see things clearly."

"I already see things clearly." Rudy protested in a low voice. "I can see that you are insane if you think I will consider joining you... I already have what I want. Friends, family, genuine respect..."

"Low grades..."

Rudy flinched. Was Mr. Cosmo really going to bring that up again? Did he think that, if he kept mentioning it, he would cave in? He was wrong about that. But he decided to let him continue. He wanted to know what more Mr. Cosmo could say.

"When all is said and done, the only thing you have to show for your prancing around in ChalkZone like some blasted hero is low grades. Friends are meaningless. Family worthless. The only thing that really matters is knowledge and power. The two are intertwined with each other. It is those with knowledge who push this country and world forward, not those who spend time making friends. I will tell you this, Tabootie...People are not going to remember you for your heroics in ChalkZone... No matter how great you are there...no one in the real world will know about it...and nobody is going to remember you for what little friends you have..."

Rudy gritted his teeth.

"So in the end, all they will remember you for is your low grades. They will not see a brave child who has faced countless dangers. They are not going to see a boy who is excellent at combat. No...all they are going to know your for are your low grades, because that is all they will see from you. Yes you are good at art, but not many people care about that. Pretty to look at, but not very profitable..not compared to things like weapons, warefare, technology..." Mr. Cosmo paused to take a breath. "I am offering you a chance to put something else on your...resume of sorts..."

Rudy fell silent. He wasn't sure how to reply to that. He continued to glare at Mr. Cosmo.

Mr. Cosmo turned his back to the boy. "You can be so much more, Rudy. Think about that..."

With that, he walked away.


	23. How Can You Still Blame Me, Skrawl?

A bigger incentive? What did Cosmo mean by that? He wondered if he meant Snap. Rudy remembered how terrible Snap looked, how much pain he was in, when he was being controlled by Cosmo. How much worse could he do to Snap?

He was devastated that he lost Snap again. He was right in there in front of him, and then gone. He had no idea where he went. If Cosmo intended on doing something worse to Snap as the 'bigger incentive'... It took all of Rudy's strength not to cry. Poor Snap... He wish he knew where he ended up. He wanted to be there for him. Even just being in the same room as him would help, he was sure.

But right now, he was trapped with Skrawl, not exactly the most sympathetic person he met. And he was waiting for Mr. Cosmo to return. There was nothing else to look forward to, if waiting for Cosmo could be considered something worth waiting for...

Rudy tried his best not to let what Cosmo said about him get to him. The man was twisted and nasty. He obviously would say anything to make him doubt himself. Rudy knew the man was nothing more than a lying bastard who is seeking out to make profit on innocent zoners, all for the sake of recognition and 'betterment of human civilization', or some other crap like that. Mr. Cosmo's words deserved no consideration.

And Snap...he would be sure that Cosmo never hurt him again. Rudy had no idea how he got the nail in Snap's head. He was certain it was extremely painful. The very idea of someone deliberately hurting his best friend made his blood boil. But he could allow it to consume him... He couldn't allow himself to cloud his own judgment. He needed to be able to think things through. He'd get out of here..somehow.

He sat on the other corner of the room. He could see Skrawl sitting in front of him. Rudy hadn't bothered talking to him. He found that, as long as he is silent, Skrawl remained relatively quiet as well. He wanted a break from his complaining and whining. His anger towards Skrawl had diminished slowly, but not completely.

He looked over at the water bars. He watched as the electricity danced over them, sparkling constantly. He had no way he could get through the bars. If the electricity weren't there, he could get through. Mr. Cosmo thinks these through apparently. And even if the electricity wasn't there, he was certain the crazed man would have another trap laying in wait for him.

The way Mr. Cosmo talked about using zoners as slave labor...it was absolutely revolting. If it wasn't clear to Rudy how little Cosmo thought of zoners before, that one sentence sure did the trick. And if Mr. Cosmo's scheme comes into fruition, he found himself wondering what would happen to ChalkZone...

Likely invaded, he would think. He imagined Cosmo would set some troops in ChalkZone to capture any new zoner that appears. They would then be dragged into the real world and forced into labor or whatever else Cosmo has planned for them. ChalkZone would largely be uninhabited except by men Cosmo hires to capture new zoners. He wouldn't doubt that Cosmo would go further and order the destruction of much of ChalkZone to force zoners to rely on him and his company for food and water.

This was all speculation, but Rudy had no doubt that is what Mr. Cosmo had planned. Mr. Cosmo would make sure there would be no loophole in his plan. He would ensure that, no matter what, the zoners would not be able to return to ChalkZone. And given what Mr. Cosmo said about zoners' long lifespan, if not infinite lifespan, there would be no breaks, no retirement for the zoners to look for. And with some labor jobs being extremely dangerous, many zoners could lose their lives.

But that wouldn't stop Mr. Cosmo. Oh no. The bastard thinks they are expendable, so new zoners could be drawn to 'replace' them, as if they were just worn out batteries to be thrown away and replaced with the new.

Even the possible future regarding Vinnie that Biclops showed them wasn't nearly as bad. Yes, the man wanted to turn ChalkZone into an amusement park, but he saw more value in the zoners than Mr. Cosmo. While Cosmo doesn't care about killing zoners, Vinnie never expressed interest in outright killing any zoner. He had not tried to directly hurt anyone. Even when he was sizing up ChalkZone, he hadn't heard any zoner complain about the man attacking them.

Terry was even less aggressive. She wanted to profit off of ChalkZone as well, but unlike Vinnie, she didn't seem interested in making the zoners do any work entertaining guests to do it. Although she was a reporter, she definitely wasn't as bad as Cosmo. Compared to him, she was downright friendly. Even when she kidnapped Snap, she didn't really inflict any real harm on him. And from what Snap told of his adventures in the studio, she never seemed to treat him like crap. He was sure Terry thought little of zoners, but she was at least more reserved about it, maybe because she knew being more cooperative would be helpful.

He wouldn't want either of these two to succeed in exposing ChalkZone. He sometimes would have nightmares where this happened. Thankfully, when he would wake up, it would all have been a dream. Scary one, but a dream nonetheless. He didn't trust them, but right now he would rather deal with them. They were easier to deal with. And they never crossed the moral lines by blackmailing him through means of threatening to hurt Snap.

Rudy began to wonder how Terry and Vinnie would feel about Cosmo. He imagined they would probably be willing to team up with him, but only for a short time. The moment Cosmo began to cause damage to ChalkZone, Vinnie would be on his ass, probably barking like a dog, and getting him to stop. If there was one thing Vinnie had, that was determination. He wanted ChalkZone to be remolded the way he wanted, and he wanted the zoners alive to participate in the theme park. He couldn't imagine him getting along very well with Cosmo, who cared nothing about making anything fun out of ChalkZone.

And Terry...he would imagine that she would get flustered with Cosmo. Terry wasn't as eccentric as Cosmo and usually knew when to call it quits, at least for a time. She was generally calm, at least compared to Cosmo, and even when she got angry, it was normal anger, not creepy anger that he saw the creepy man display. Terry would likely stop working with him really quick. He couldn't imagine her being willing to work close to a maniac. Vinnie was harmless enough and, though a bit eccentric himself, was able to keep himself more or less docile when doing business with someone.

He wouldn't really see them for a while. Before all this happened, he and Penny learned they had went to another town for a business trip and wouldn't be back for a month or so. The two hadn't tried to get to ChalkZone recently. He wasn't going to count them out. They may just be trying to formulate a new plan. Each plan was relatively predictable, though still clever.

He realized he missed facing off against them. Well in this situation, he would miss facing off against any of the other opponents in the past. No one has been as bad as Cosmo. He didn't think any of the other bad guys he faced could reach Cosmo's level of despicability.

His thoughts going back to Mr. Cosmo in particular, he began to think about what he said to him. About becoming like him and all. He had denied that outright. He didn't want the man to get to his head. If he let him in an inch, he'd walk all over him. The man would say whatever he could to dismantle his beliefs and replace them with his. It seemed like he always knew just what to say, and when.

He had to admit one thing. Mr. Cosmo kinda had a point. Since no one in the real world knew of ChalkZone save for very few, no one would really know of his heroics. But did that really matter in the end? The people in ChalkZone knew all the things he did for them and they were grateful. That was good enough for him.

If Cosmo could only see value in respect and friendship, he might understand where he is coming from. If Cosmo allowed himself to care more about just mere recognition, fame, and fortune, he might be a little more willing to work with him, even strike a deal with him. It would certainly make it much easier to negotiate with him, as he probably wouldn't be so insane as to think kidnapping and hurting Snap would make him more willing to let him train him.

Then he started to, again, think about Cosmo's claim of him becoming like him. Could he be right? Rudy had noticed he was getting a little more aggressive lately. He hadn't been like this before. And yet, with a few actions from Mr. Cosmo, he was getting angrier and more hateful towards the man. He was getting more aggressive as he spoke to him.

Rudy didn't want to believe that the man was right. He tried to push the thoughts in the back of his head. But they kept reappearing in his mind. Cosmo's words started to hit him like a dagger. Could Mr. Cosmo truly been speaking the truth that time? Could Rudy really become as dark as Mr. Cosmo?

No..no he wouldn't. He couldn't let himself believe that.

But then, why did he still feel this way?

Rudy began to replay his adventures in his head. The memories swarmed his brain, and in his mind, he rewatched the things he could remember doing. And he began to notice somethings that he never noticed before. And it made him shudder to think about.

There was the time when a dragon came into ChalkZone and started wreaking havoc. Rudy had used glue to hold the dragon down. Sure, he did not hurt the dragon, but what chilled Rudy was that he didn't really have a plan beyond that. Was he really willing to just let the dragon be stuck on the street for the rest of its life? Rudy couldn't imagine he would do that, but then...how else could he interpret this incident? The only reason he ever went to the dragon's creator for help was because the glue idea didn't work. The glue idea...he could imagine would be something Mr. Cosmo would do...

Then there was the time when he had created a puppet named Howdy in ChalkZone and took him in the real world for a talent show. The result was Howdy ended up being erased by way of tongue of a dog. True, he had meant no harm in bringing Howdy, but he should have been more careful. The real world was dangerous for zoners to be in for long. What if Howdy had been erased into ChalkZone beforehand? The dog's licking would have killed him. And Snap...what if he had asked Snap to be in the talent show instead, and Reggie's dog chased him instead? Would Snap have...?

Rudy took in a shuddering breath. There were a few more incidents he could think of, but he didn't want them in his mind right now. The dragon and Howdy incidents were bad enough. They weren't done out of true malice. But both would be something Cosmo would do. He would torment a zoner by freezing them in one place for a long time. He would drag a zoner out into the dangerous real world and let them be killed.

And if Mr. Cosmo found out about some of Rudy's adventures, he could, and would, use any incident he sees fit and use it against him. He would twist the events around, forcing Rudy to see things in a different light, just like how he did with Howdy and the dragon.

A chilling thought entered Rudy's mind. What if Mr. Cosmo really had been a hero in ChalkZone once? Or at least a really nice guy? What if he had been like him, willing to help out zoners if need be, but then the black chalk came and corrupted his vision of it? If Cosmo had prior knowledge of what it was like to help others, if he had done so himself and remembered, it was no wonder he could so easily turn it all on its head.

What would happen if he had to use the black chalk? Rudy hated to think about it, but he knew that, eventually, he would have to use the cursed black chalk. It was the only way to severe ties with Mr. Cosmo.

But...would he become like Mr. Cosmo...?

"What's the matter with you, chalk boy?" Skrawl asked, breaking Rudy out of his thoughts.

"What?" Rudy asked. Had Skrawl really been paying that much attention to him that he'd notice something was wrong? That didn't sound like Skrawl at all.

"You were spacing out like you saw a ghost or something." Skrawl said, his eyes narrowed. "I was begining to wonder if you had fallen asleep with your eyes open. That would have been creepy..." He gave a shudder. "I get enough creepiness from the Beanie Boys."

"The Beanie Boys, huh? Well you know, Skrawl, you could always look for other minions." Rudy said, shrugging his shoulders. He was kinda happy to talk with Skrawl. It helped get his mind somewhat off of Cosmo. "I'm sure you could find some zoner in ChalkZone insane enough to work with you."

"Oh no..." Skrawl growled. "I am not going to have another Craniac incident! My plans with him always failed because he was a complete idiot!"

Rudy gave a small smile. "Or maybe you are too arrogant to see your own mistakes."

Skrawl spluttered, "Arrogant? Mistakes?"

"You are sometimes too short-sighted, Skrawl. I gotta hand it to you, some of your plans were good and well thought out. But it seems like you don't always think things all the way through. Like with Craniac. If you had done some research ahead of time, you would know that many of Craniacs robots didn't work that well." Rudy explained. "This shouldn't come as a surprise because I made Craniac 4 to replace Craniac 3, not to be a complete dictionary of all things villainy. The Craniacs were out for knowledge and study, not conquering ChalkZone." Rudy paused for breath. He pointed at Skrawl. "And that, Skrawl, was where you made your miscalculation with joining forces with Craniac."

Skrawl opened his mouth to speak, but soon shut it. Rudy could tell that he wanted to come up with a comeback, but was unable to. As the jellybean turned his body away, it was clear Skrawl was flustered beyond coming up with a comprehensive reply. Skrawl wasn't the one to admit when he was wrong, so Rudy didn't really expect anything more from him.

Rudy turned his head towards the bars again. He wondered when Mr. Cosmo would return. There was no clock here. No sense of time. No way to know how much time had passed. Not knowing the passive of time was aggravating him. Each second felt like a minute. And each minute felt like an hour. He wondered if this was part of some intentional torment.

"You're thinking about this Cosmo guy, aren't you, Master Tabootie?"

Rudy snapped his head in Skrawl's direction. His eyes were wide in shock. "How did you know?" He hadn't said a word. How did Skrawl guess that is what he was thinking?

"I didn't, actually." Skrawl grinned as he boasted. "Thanks for telling me."

Rudy snarled, "Skrawl..."

"Oh come on. We're stuck together for now, so might as well have some enlightening conversation with you." Skrawl said sarcastically. "Who knows? Maybe you will be able to sway me into changing. Maybe I will forgo all my villainous attempts at taking over what is rightfully mine and..."

"Can it, Skrawl." Rudy said bitterly.

"Oh no, Tabootie...I can't can it. You see, I got nothing else." Skrawl said in a low voice. He got up from the ground and began to walk towards Rudy. "Because of you, because of how you made me look, the only way I can get anyone's respect is by becoming ChalkZone's ruler."

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "Respect? Oh, so you are like Mr. Cosmo in that respect, aren't you? You want to use ChalkZone for your own benefit. You don't care who you hurt, so long as you get what you want."

"That might be..." Skrawl droned slowly. By now he was up in Rudy's face. His breath hit against the boy, causing him to turn away. "But I at least have enough dignity to know when I go too far. Why do you think I haven't tried sending you to the Waitin' Sea anymore?"

Rudy blinked. He hadn't really thought about that. But it really had been a long time since Skrawl tried dropping him there. He has assumed he had just given up on it. Was there really another reason?

"I had finally gotten around to thinking to myself...was it really worth it to send you there? Why should I waste all my talents on the same plan? And if my anger was at you, then why should I waste time trying to hurt other zoners in an attempt to get revenge on you?" Skrawl said, gesturing with his skrawny clawed arm. His gaze shifted upwards for a second, before he turned them back down to Rudy. "Don't mistake me as getting soft, artist boy. I do fully intend in taking over ChalkZone and destroying you. But now yo u know this about me. I do have my limits."

What Skrawl said, Rudy wasn't sure exactly how to take it. A part of him wasn't too surprised. Mr. Cosmo already proved himself to be a vile person, while Skrawl hadn't done anything quite as bad. But another part of him wasn't sure if he could trust Skrawl's words. For all he knew, Skrawl could be taking notes and be planning on using them later on. He had already been willing to brainwash citizens. That did backfire in the end, but still...

Skrawl decided to speak again. "I have to admit. I was surprised what you seemed to falter a little when Mr. Cosmo speaks to you." He turned his head "You don't really believe what he says, do you?"

"No!" Rudy said quickly. Skrawl stared at him. Rudy cleared his throat. "Sorry. I mean..no I don't believe him."

Skrawl tilted his head. "Do you believe that? Or are you saying it just so you can fool yourself into believing it?"

Rudy didn't know what Skrawl was getting at. He couldn't think of a reply.

"Honestly...I hope you don't believe him." Skrawl said. He folded up his arms. "I would be disappointed if my greatest arch enemy was really that easily manipulated. You have been a thorn in my side for so long. And as much as it pains me to say this, you...are quite resilient and resourceful. You always seem to find a way out of almost any situation handed to you. If you gave up...well, I would begin to question if you really were the real Master Tabootie."

Rudy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Skrawl really...defending him? In a weird way sure, but Skrawl's words were more encouraging than they were insulting. He was not used this from Skrawl. Since when had he become a therapist? When had he gotten so psychological? Was this the result of him working with the Beanie Boys, somehow?

With now mentally distorted the Beanie Boys could be at times, Skrawl may have learned a lot about psychology working with them. He had to have understood their thought processes well enough to have them be his willing servants for so long. The Beanie Boys, as he heard said somewhere, were outcasted from much of ChalkZone. And with Skrawl being an outcast himself, or so he says, that may have been the reason Skrawl went to the Beanie Boys in the first place.

He realized that Skrawl was right. Any amount of doubt he would have now, it wouldn't be like him. He wasn't some tool to be manipulated. He wasn't someone to be made a fool of. He had accomplished so much, he had beaten so many odds... He just had to continue believing in himself, in his abilities. He had to trust that, in time, he would find a way out of this.

Rudy felt some of his spirits return after Skrawl's little speech. He wasn't sure if this is what the jellybean had intended, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

"Thanks, Skrawl." Rudy said without thinking.

Skrawl growled and turned away. "Oh be quiet, Rudy Tabootie..."

Something came to Rudy's mind. "There's something I want to ask first." Skrawl growled again but didn't try to stop him, probably knowing he wouldn't be able to stop Rudy from asking anyway. "Do you...still really blame me?"

Skrawl raised an eyebrow. "There's a lot I blame you for, artist boy. Pick one."

"For your looks." Rudy said. "Do you honestly still think it was my fault that you are..like that?"

Skrawl's mouth curled into a small snarl. "Well of course I do. Don't think I haven't forgotten about that. Oh you gave me more reasons to hate you, but that...my looks...you sabotaging it...that was the kicker, the icing on the cake."

Rudy couldn't believe it. After all this time, he was still holding onto that grudge. Granted, it didn't surprise him. But he just didn't understand how he could still be angry about that. From the sound of what Skrawl said, it was like, out of everything, Skrawl hated him for what he believed he did to his looks the most.

It seemd really childish to him. And what made it worse is that he had tried to help Skrawl. He did make him look good, really good actually. He could have been well liked among ChalkZone. But he turned his back on it all.

He couldn't understand how Skrawl could still insist that everything about his appearance and bad first start in ChalkZone had been his fault. Rudy had nothing to do with it. It wasn't his fault that people shoved him out of the way and did an unwanted collaboration. Rudy could very well change Skrawl's appearance. If Skrawl had just come up to him for that, things would have been different.

It was becoming hard for Rudy to hold back his anger. He spoke in a somewhat low voice, "It isn't fair you are pitting this whole rap on me, Skrawl."

"And my whole life isn't fair, chalk boy." Skrawl spat back. "Do you have any idea what things were like for me when I first got here? Do you know how much I was picked on, shoved around, pushed around? Do you have an inkling of what I was put through before I finally put my foot down?"

"But it wasn't just me!" Rudy cried. "There were other artists! Why haven't you tried going after them? Why do you direct it all at me?"

"You were the one to start drawing." Skrawl said, narrowing his eyes. "In the event that a drawing has more than one artist working on it, the one who starts making the creation is the one who is dubbed the creator. And since you were the one who first started to draw me..." Skrawl pointed at him. "That means you are my creator, not the other kids, no matter how much more they added compared to you."

Rudy clenched his teeth. "I did try to fix it for you... I made you look good, just like you wanted. But you turned back on your deal. You threw away your one chance at..."

"Oh be quiet!" Skrawl snapped at him. "You broke your promise too, you know!"

Rudy's expression softened slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"You said you would make me look good. You said you wouldn't use the chalk against me." Skrawl said in a low, growling voice. Before Rudy could protest, Skrawl continued, raising his voice. "But you lied to me! You lied! You tore down everything you did for me, made me ugly again! And you did it without hesitation, like you wanted to do it all along! Your use of the magic chalk flung me away and I crashed on a remote island! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get off of there? Do you?!"

Rudy stared at Skrawl in shock. He was stunned, unable to think of a response. He wanted to defend himself. He wanted to explain the reasons for his actions. He wanted to tell Skrawl it was his fault. But, for some reason, no words came out of his mouth.

"And you wonder why I continue to hate you..." Skrawl grumbled before looking away. Silence fell upon the room.


	24. What We Could Have Been

Penny struggled with all her might against the controlled zoners. It was all in vain. Two zoners, both which she did not recognize, were dragging her off somewhere. She didn't know how long she had been forced to walk. It seemed like hours, but that could be just an exaggeration.

One zoner looked a little similar to Lars, only he was black and wore armor. He gripped her right hand. The other zoner, holding her left hand, was a large red and orange stork-like being. Both wore controller bracelets. The sight of the controller bracelets, though still unsettling, was not as nightmarish as the nail put in Snap's head.

She couldn't believe that Cosmo was able to regain control of Snap so quickly. She wondered what happened to the others after Snap...no, Cosmo, tossed her down the hole. Was Snap forced to attack Rudy again? That seemed as though it was a likely possibility.

And if that is the case, she felt a pang fear in her stomach. Snap was banged up as it was. He couldn't handle being controlled so viciously forever. Being moved around like that was causing damage to his wounds, she was certain. If Cosmo continued using him like some puppet, Snap would surely die.

If Skrawl cooperated and helped Rudy, they might stand a chance at restraining Snap so he wouldn't hurt them or him. Skrawl was big and strong. He could hold down Snap, preventing Cosmo from attacking them with him.

Or...would that even work?

Penny thought back to when Snap was riding on her shoulder. Although his eye were closed, he wasn't sleeping. Rudy probably couldn't hear it, but she could. The poor guy had been whimpering much of the time, most likely from the pain he was in, and from the hideous experience he had to endure. With all that had happened, Snap was out of it, unresponsive. She had tried to talk to him. But there was no reply.

With him in such a weak state, it made no sense that his body was able to do what it did and restrain her so fast. Her theory was it had something to do with the device in his head. It forces zoners to do things against their will. Would it be too much of a stretch and say that it did so regardless of the zoner's condition? Penny didn't think it was farfetched. It would certainly explain how Snap was able to perform those manuevers if he were so badly injured.

The thought disgusted her. This meant that Cosmo could break Snap's leg and force him to walk on it. It would be like if she cut her foot open and walked on fire. The pain would be intense. If only they could find a way to block Cosmo's signal to Snap...

A sharp yank from the stork nearly caused her to trip on the ground. The black bear forced her straight up and pushed her roughly forward. They had come to a room with a roundish opening. There was no sign as to what room this was, much like most of the other rooms in this blasted building. And the room was so dark, she couldn't tell what it was.

In she was dragged and thrown to the ground. She collided with a heavy thud. She rubbed her head and coughed. She adjusted her glasses and looked around. Still too dark to see. She looked behind her. The two zoners stood, blocking her way out. One of them flicked a switch.

The room was illuminated, but it was a deep crimson so it didn't reveal too much. The room was pretty big. No machines in sight. She did spot what looked to be a large bowl...no two large bowls. She saw a couple of chew toys. She narrowed her eyes. They looked chalky in appearance. So did the bed in the corner. There was some kind of brown mass on it, also chalky.

The mass began to move. It raised its head. The ears twitched back and forth. It began to rise from the bed. Huge bat wings spread out.

Penny realized in horror who this was. She took a few steps back, her body starting to remble as the beast turned its wolf-like head at her. Upon seeing that face, as Rudy described to her, she had no doubts on who this was.

Draow opened his mouth and let out a roar. Penny turned her head away as his breath hit her face. The smell was the least of her worries. She took a few steps back as Draow began to size her up, bobbing his head up and down. She was certain he was trying to find the first part to bite first. And she was right. Seconds later, he lunged for her, snapping his jaws at her.

Though she managed to dodge, she didn't know if she'd be lucky next time. As the beast tried to get at her again, she dodged to the side. She made her way over to his chew toys. Maybe they could help her.

She gripped his bone in her hand and waved it in front of her. She hoped it would entice the beast to look at the bone and not her. She didn't have so much luck. Draow's piercing teal eyes were still on her, drool dripping from his mouth. It was clear that he didn't care about the chew toy; only her.

Draow leapt towards her. She threw the bone at him as his jaws started to shut. The bone was long enough that it got caught in his mouth. He shook his head wildly to dislodge it. He started to bite harder, and she could see it was starting to crack. She wouldn't have much time to spare. She needed to act now.

Penny raced towards the exit. The two zoners positioned themselves to block her attempts to escape. Penny jumped on the air. She placed her hand on the head of the stork and she flipped her body upwards like a gymnastic. She landed on the other side of the zoners. She heard something snap and, adrenaline rising, began to run.

The two zoners didn't stand a chance. Before they could get out of the way, Draow rammed into them. They were sent flying and crashed against the wall. They moaned as the winged beast stood over them. He pawed the ground and stuck his head in the air, sniffing. When he caught Penny's scent, he turned in the direction she went, let out a yowl, and chased after her.

As Penny ran for her life, Penny suddenly knew why she was brought here. She should have seen it coming earlier. Mr. Cosmo was desperate to get Rudy on his side. She knew it would be easier for him to do that if he had as little confidents as possible. He already had a hostage he could use to blackmail Rudy with.

He didn't need another...

Draow was gaining up on her. He was starting to flap his wings to gain a bit of speed. Penny screamed as he snapped his jaws at her again. She barely managed to get out of the way before the teeth sank into her elbow. She dared not look behind her. Her heart pounding, she continued to run. To where, she didn't know. Anywhere but here.

Without warning, something hit her on the shoulder. She tumbled to the ground. She was on her hands and knees as Draow approached her slowly. He emitted a series of threatening growls. She turned her head to face him. As he got closer, she realized her shoulder stung. She put her hand to it and hissed as she felt a stinging pain there. When she looked at her hand, it was covered in blood. When she looked over at Draow, it dawned on her what had happened.

She could see something red on the wolf bat's wing claw. She recognized it as her own blood. If the blood was hurting Draow, and she was certain it was, he wasn't reacting to it. She looked at her shoulder, and saw a deep gash cutting across under her collar bone to her the middle top of her chest. She pressed her hand against the wound, attempting to stop the bleeding.

She looked up and saw Draow up in the air. He brought out his talons towards her, roaring loudly. She got up from the ground and tried to run. He dove towards her and struck her down with his foot. The tip of the claws grazed her leg, stinging horribly. It felt like shards of glass were stuck in her leg. She tried to stand back up, but the pain caused her knees to buckle and she fell forward.

Draow got back onto the ground and folded his wings to his sides. His fur puffed up menacingly. His lips curled back in a snarl. He slowly cornered Penny against the wall. He pushed her hard against the wall with his foot. Penny grounded as the claws dug into her. She couldn't hold back the tears as the claws dug into her gash. She stared at Draow with fear filled eyes as she desperately tried to free herself.

Draow threw back his head and howled in victory. He then glared at her before tensing up his neck and struck out to bite her. Penny closed her eyes and waited for the blow.

It never came. Instead, something else happened that was unexpected to both her and Draow.

The wall opened up. Penny started to tumble backwards. A pair of arms wrapped around her and yanked her backwards swiftly. The wall closed and she heard a loud thud and a whine. Draow had tried to jump in after her, only to slam his nose against the hard wall. She heard the sound of him scratching, trying to get into the wall.

The tunnel Penny found herself in was pretty dark, though there were some pale blue lights illuminating it, if just barely. She turned around to see who her savior was. She gasped and took a step back. The light made it hard to see the person's face, but she recognized who it was.

"Ms. Saffron? What are you..."

"Surprised?" Saffron asked casually.

Penny was only in shock for a second before she remembered who this woman was. She backed up, narrowing her eyes. She ignored the pain in her leg and shoulder the best she could. Whatever tricks this woman had up her sleeves, she wasn't going to fall for them.

Saffron looked a little confused by her behavior. Penny believed this was just to put her guard down. Saffron worked for Cosmo. She had been there when Cosmo trapped Rudy the first time. That was enough for Penny to go on to know this woman wasn't to be trusted. And of course, she couldn't forget how nasty she was to Rudy when they first met. Juvenile delinquent...she would make this woman eat those words.

"Calm down, child." Ms. Saffron said, holding up her hands. "I am not here to fight you. I'm here to help you."

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Why should I trust with you? You work for Mr. Cosmo."

"You mean 'worked'. I don't work for that bastard anymore." Ms. Saffron said, noticeable venom in her voice as she said the word 'bastard'.

Penny cocked an eyebrow. It sounded like Ms. Saffron really hated Mr. Cosmo now. But she wasn't sure if she should trust her. This could all still be a trick. She might just be lowering her guard so she could take her to Mr. Cosmo. Or back to Draow to be torn apart.

"I still don't know if I can trust you..." Penny said cautiously. "You haven't done anything to earn my trust."

"I am the one who allowed you guys to escape." Ms. Saffron said with a small smile. "Or is that not good enough for you?"

Penny's glare softened. "That was...you...?" She asked in disbelief.

Ms. Saffron nodded her head once. "I was able to get into the system network and provide a temporary distraction. I am sorry I couldn't find a more permanent solution for your friend Snap. Cosmo had a workaround I couldn't figure out, so his freedom, if you could call it that, would only last for a short time."

Penny shuddered at this. It brought back vivid memories of Snap being hauled around like a rag doll.

Saffron continued, "Listen, we can't stay here. We...oh man..." Saffron took a step towards Penny. "Your shoulder... Draow got you, didn't he?"

Penny nodded her head. "He was going for my throat I'm sure..."

"No doubt." Ms. Saffron said regretfully. "Mr. Cosmo likely saw you as a threat to his plan, a probable distraction. So he sent you away to be killed." A chill went up Penny's spine. "No doubt he lied to your friend Rudy about this. He would want him to believe you were still alive. At least until he was ready to tell the truth, which he doesn't seem to do that often."

Penny let this sink in. If Saffron had told the truth, then she had been right. It was chilling to her to know she had been that close to death. Mr. Cosmo already made it apparent he didn't care if zoners died. But now he made it crystal clear he didn't care about killing his own species either if it meant getting what he wanted. Mr. Cosmo was a despicable being...

Ms. Saffron grabbed the end of her business suit and pulled on it hard. She grunted and strained, pulling at the tough material until it gave way into a tear. She repeated the same on the other side of the suit. She walked up to Penny.

"Please trust me...I just want to help you." She said softly.

Penny was still cautious around the woman. But she decided to give her a chance. It was a risk, but if she could win a potential ally in Saffron, she and her friends might have a chance.

Saffron wrapped the first cloth around Penny's leg. She tied it tightly, securing it there. She then took the longer piece to Penny's shoulder. She had Penny raise her arm. She wrapped the cloth up against the girl's under arm, as far as she could go. She then took a spare string she had in her pocket, a pretty small one, and tied it around the top part of the cloth, nearest to her shoulder. She tied the other end to Penny's neck, careful not to strangle her with it.

"I know it's not professional." Saffron said. "But it'll do until you get it properly treated."

Penny examined the makeshift bandages. She looked up at Saffron and smiled. "Thank you." She said, grateful for the woman's help.

Ms. Saffron smiled back, but then she frowned. She reached over and grabbed Penny's hand. "We have to get out of here."

"But...but what about Rudy?" Penny asked. "What about Snap? The others?"

Saffron looked at her. "We will help them soon. But first, there's someone we have to go get."

Penny was confused. Who was Saffron talking about? Who could help them here? "What are you talking about?"

By this time, the two were running down the tunnels. Penny was doing her best to keep up with Ms. Saffron's pace. She hated the feeling of being dragged by her hand, but she wouldn't doubt that, if the woman hadn't grabbed her by the hand, she would be lagging sorely behind.

"I was looking at Mr. Cosmo's files. I found something quite interesting." Ms. Saffron said.

"And what is that?" Penny asked.

"I found out about an artist whom had done battle with Mr. Cosmo in the past, and won."

Penny's eyes widened. "You know who this artist is?"

Saffron gave a knowing smile. "Yes. And we are going straight to him."

sss

Skrawl could not find the right words to express how much he hated being here. Every second wasted in this trash heap was less time he could be in ChalkZone devising a plan or training the Beanie Boys for more plans. With the artist boy and genius girl out of the picture, as well as their annoying comical sidekick, Snap, he could have taken over ChalkZone by now.

But no, he had to get hauled here as well. Not only that, but that man had the gaul to try to control him. Him, of all zoners! Did Mr. Cosmo have no idea who he was dealing with? If he were outside of this dreadful cage, he would be strangling Cosmo right now.

And how dare he try to mess with Master Tabootie's mind. That was his job. If anyone was going to torment Rudy, it was going to be him. Rudy was his to deal with. Rudy was his archenemy. Skrawl was not about to let Mr. Cosmo take the glory of defeating Rudy away from him.

He looked over at the boy. He scowled. It was pitiful how Rudy just sat there with his head lowered. Probably thinking about Snap no doubt. Skrawl understood enough about companionship to know how strong it was. He wasn't surprised Rudy was still upset. He fully expected it.

He remembered what he had told Rudy a short time ago. He was fully aware of how hypocritical he sounded when he told Rudy that he lied. And to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure if he could even call it lying. Regardless, it still enraged him. That was just one small reason why he hated Rudy so much.

Skrawl understood that Rudy was not entirely at fault for how he looked. He wasn't denying this. He was fully aware that Rudy was shoved aside in the collaboration process. He understood that Rudy had never meant for him to turn out that way. Rudy probably didn't know. With how he acted towards the artist boy, it wouldn't surprise him. He never gave Rudy much of a reason to believe otherwise.

What really angered Skrawl, which he had never mentioned in all these years, was the fact that Rudy didn't try to do anything to stop that girl from erasing him. He had expected him to say something, to correct him before it was too late. When Rudy said nothing when he was being erased... Skrawl felt betrayed by the boy.

It was for this reason that Skrawl continued to hold a grudge. He admitted, it was a bit childish. But he just couldn't help it. His very first experience at life was what he saw as complete and utter betrayal.

Skrawl kept his distance away from Rudy. He would be after him in a second if he didn't have this connection with the child. Keeping away from him was the only thing he could do to prevent the hate from overcoming him again. The genius girl had been right. They shouldn't be fighting. Not in their predicament. Keeping away from Rudy was the only thing he could think of to prevent himself from arguing with him. He wasn't stupid, and fully understood arguing would make things worse.

"Hey Skrawl...?" Rudy's voice cut through the silence like butter.

Skrawl grumbled. Master Tabootie wanted to chit chat with him? He thought that he wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. "What do you want?" He grumbled.

"There's...something I've been thinking about." Rudy said, raising his head to look at Skrawl. He paused for a few seconds. "This is something I sometimes think about."

Skrawl narrowed his eyes. "Spit it out already!"

"Do you think that..." Rudy bit his lip. Skrawl tilted his head slightly. Was it really that hard to state what was on his mind? Rudy eventually managed to continue. "Do you think that, if the situations had been different, that maybe we would have been...friends?"

Skrawl froze at that word. Was this boy joking? He wanted to laugh. He couldn't believe that Rudy would consider such a thing.

"Why would I want to be friends with you?" Skrawl snarled at him. "You constantly get in my way. You stomp all over my plans. You prevent my quest of ChalkZone domination. Why in the world would I ever want to be associated with the likes of you?!"

Skrawl was surprised when Rudy winced at what he said. The expression on his face...could it be disappointment? Hurt? No, it couldn't be. Rudy hated him. He reminded himself of that.

"I think we could have been." Rudy said softly as a reply. He turned his head away and stared almost blankly at the water bars. "I never mentioned this to you, or anyone, but sometimes I wonder how things could have been...if I had drawn you the way I wanted. If I had managed to stop the others from ruining the vision I had of you. It is a disappointment that I may have lost a potential friend in you, all because of some unfortunate event I did not foresee."

"Oh can it, Master Tabootie." Skrawl growled at him. "What done is done. Nothing you say or do will change what has happened to me! And let me tell you something..." He took a single step towards Rudy. "Even if I had been drawn correctly, I will never be friends with you. I would still have been your worse enemy, do I make myself clear?"

Rudy looked disappointed again. He looked away. "Whatever you say Skrawl."

Skrawl turned around and folded his arms. The very idea of being friends with the artist boy...it made him feel sick. Why would he want to be associated with someone like him? The person who had allowed himself to become this abomination...the same person who had kept getting in his way...the same person who sabotaged his plans...

Skrawl made it very clear to Rudy that, if he had the chance, the opportunity, he would kill him. He didn't care how. Just as long as he was out of the way. He was tired of Rudy's constant interruption. He was sick of Rudy robbing him of his rightful place as ruler of ChalkZone. He had little reason to want to consider Rudy a friend.

And yet, as he walked away, back turned to Rudy, his expression slowly softened up. He did not look back at Rudy. He just stood there, frozen in thought. He began to think about what Rudy had told him earlier.

Would he truly have still hated Rudy if things had happened differently? He said he would, but how could he be so certain? The whole reason that he became evil was because of how he was treated for his looks. If Rudy had finished the picture uninterrupted, then perhaps he could have turned out to be some fantastic creature. A butterfly perhaps? A dragon?

Skrawl realized how unlikely it would be he'd still hate Rudy if circumstances were different. If Rudy Tabootie had managed to finish the drawing, who knows? He might have been a pleasurable person. He could have had a lot of friends. He wouldn't have needed to force the Beanie Boys to help him do some dirty work.

Slowly, he began to have some second thoughts. Had he really taken things too far, like Rudy told him? Had he been out of line with constantly blaming him for what happened? Skrawl understood that it wasn't entirely Rudy's fault. So why was he still putting the blame on him? Skrawl had to admit, he no longer knew why.

He thought back to when Rudy gave him a good look. Rudy had given him quite a stunning appearance. He somehow managed to change it from an ugly jellybean into a classy gentleman. He did honestly like his new look, even though it was brief. Then...then he ruined it by betraying Rudy...

Skrawl shook his head. No, he couldn't let himself grow soft. Rudy deserved what he got. He...what had he done actually? Well now he did have a reason to dislike the boy with his constant interferences. But back then, what had the boy done to deserve what he got? Despite what he did, the boy was still willing to help him.

Skrawl felt something tug at his heart. Something that was uncharacteristic for him. Guilt? What did he have to feel guilty for? He soon realized why he was feeling guilty. Deep down, a part of him always regretted what he had done years ago. A small portion of him did feel bad about turning his back on his promise, even if he didn't show it. He buried that feeling long ago, but now it was resurfacing.

Perhaps...perhaps he should consider giving Rudy a chance. He may not have been as bad as he led himself to believe.

He was torn from his thoughts when he heard a scream. He whipped his head over and saw that Rudy was being dragged out of the cage. Part of the bars had disappeared to allow him to fit through. When Skrawl came up to it, the bars reappeared, trapping him inside.

Skrawl could only watch as a large white zoner, Lars he think it was, dragged Rudy away.


	25. You Have No Choice, Rudy

“Lars! Stop this!” Rudy cried.

Lars ignored him. He gave no response except for a low growl. He had Rudy up in the air, holding his arms to his side. Rudy attempted to struggle free. Lars’s grip was a vice.

The bear ‘guided’ Rudy town a hallway. In a matter of minutes, it looked familiar. Rudy recognized it as the same path as Cosmo took them. They soon entered the same room as they were in before when Snap was forced to fight them. Rudy was given haunted reminders of that when he saw blood splattered on the ground. Snap’s blood.

Lars got him onto the platform. Instead of having to push a button, the platform rose on its own. Rudy guessed there was some kind of sensor there that caused the platform to rise and fall whenever someone stood on it. The platform made a click sound was it halted at the top.

The hallway Lars took him to was very dark. Only a bit of red lighting provided any illumination. The lights on the wall seemed to pulse. As they got down further, they got redder and brighter. It was ominous. He wouldn’t be surprised if Cosmo designed it this way on purpose to warn anyone that, by entering here, they are getting in big trouble.

He wondered momentarily why Cosmo didn’t come down to get him. Then he remembered that it was Cosmo he was thinking of. The man already made it clear that he wanted to use zoners as slaves. It would be just like him to send a controlled zoner down to do the work for him.

And of course it was going to be someone like Lars, with the nail driven in his head. It, too, had some blood caked around it, dried up from when it was forced into him. He couldn’t pull it out without hurting him. Cosmo really thought ahead with this. He knew that if he sent one of his bracelet controlled zoners, he could just rip off the brace. But a nail controlled zoner was a whole different story.

Minutes later, they came to the end of the hallway, where it forked left and right. Lars went left and headed down that way. The hallway was completely red. Not just the lights, but the structure was a deep crimson. In contrast, likely to make them easier to see, the rooms had green lights in them.

Down this hall, there were five green lights, all of which Rudy guessed were rooms. These are probably offices of some kind. They weren’t big enough to hold any big equipment. He wondered if some of the security was located here as well. As he was dragged by, he tried to get a peak inside one of them. Lars pulled him too fast, like he didn’t want Rudy to snoop around.

The last door on the right opened up as they drew closer to it. With a single shove, Lars pushed Rudy into the room. The door shut behind him. Rudy got up to his feet. He didn’t bother trying to open the door. He knew it would be locked. He looked around the room.

The room was about medium sized in the form of a hexagon. There was much to this room. It was mostly empty. He could see a door in the back that he guessed was the bathroom. There were a couple of file cabinets, but they were a tad dusty. It didn’t surprise him as he could see a computer in the corner. Cosmo likely kept most of his records in there, locked up with a password.

He thought this was inefficient at first until he realized that, if Cosmo ever came to the point where he needed to destroy his data, best to keep it mostly in one centralized location. He could destroy the computer and no one would be the wiser. He realized what that meant. If he got out of here and tried to have Cosmo convicted, without any evidence to back up his claims, Cosmo would still be able to run free. He doubted he kept any important information in the file cabinet...

He saw what looked like a large tank next to a desk. It reminded him of when he first encountered Cosmo, trapped on the upper level. The tank there had an occupant in the form of Skrawl. This tank was noticeably much smaller, as if it were intended for a smaller occupant.

His eyes shot open as he thought of just who that occupant would be. Snap...

That’s when he noticed he was not alone in the room. He heard the sound of tapping from the corner, a dark shaded part of the room. Rudy took a step back as he saw Mr. Cosmo walking up to him, standing in the light.

“I’m glad you could make it, Rudy Tabootie.” Mr. Cosmo said with an amused tone. “I take it Subject #5 was able to get you here in one piece.”

Rudy realized who he was talking about. He hissed, “He has a name you know...”

Cosmo simply dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Details, details...Let’s get on, shall we?”

Mr. Cosmo walked close to Rudy. The teenager took a step back, gritting his teeth in hatred and anger. This did not faze the man. He reached down and touched Rudy’s cheek.

“I am disappointed you haven’t been able to listen to reason.”

Rudy twisted himself away from the man. “It is you who won’t listen. I told you once. I will tell you a thousand times. I will not join you!”

This caused Mr. Cosmo to let out a half-hearted laugh. It was clear he was confident his plan would ultimately succeed. He was taking all of this in stride. He began to walk around Rudy, examining him as if he were on display.

He continued to circle the boy as he spoke.

“You know...I was a lot like you once...”

A cold chill came up Rudy’s spine. So he had been right. And now, he wished that he wasn’t.

“Always so noble, willing to help...” Mr. Cosmo droned slowly. “Yes, my time in ChalkZone was a...what would you say, one large ‘hero’s tale’. Okay so I wasn’t as helpful as you seem to be towards these creatures. But I can assure you that, at one time, I saw them the same way you did.”

Rudy felt his heart start to race. Cosmo’s expression slowly changed. At first, it was just a calm smile. But soon it broadened. There was a twinkle in his eye.

“That all changed when I happened to find the black chalk. As I picked it up, it told me its secrets. It opened my eyes to a whole new world, whole new possibilities.” Mr. Cosmo stopped circling Rudy. He rounded on the boy and started to back him up towards the wall. “From that day forward, I used my newfound knowledge. I realized how fruitless my ‘heroics’ had been. I realized that, because chalk creatures were created...should they not be used? So...I began a path of progress. I even managed to purify some fellow artists to follow me.”

By this point, Rudy’s back was pressed against the wall. Mr. Cosmo got close to him, enough so he couldn’t run off. He gripped Rudy’s arm roughly and pressed it against the wall to secure him even more. Rudy looked into Cosmo’s eyes with fear and shock.

Rudy managed to say something when he broke out out of his stunned silence. “You...you didn’t purify them...You corrupted them...”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flickered. Rudy swore he saw a flash of black in them, and it wasn’t the pupil. “Oh how naive you are. The black chalk doesn’t corrupt. It merely opens your mind to the truth, and the possibilities that come from it.”

Rudy cringed as Mr. Cosmo’s voice began to grow darker.

“You...you have a lot of potential. I can see it in your eyes. I love your determination. You would make a fine apprentice.” Mr. Cosmo said as he moved his face closer to Rudy’s. He smirked as the boy jerked his head to the side, trying to avoid eye contact. He merely grabbed the boy’s face and forced him to look at him. “You’re so clever you probably realized that I intend on you to use the black chalk, haven’t you?”

He took Rudy’s expression as a yes. He laughed coldly before he gripped the boy by his shirt collar and pulled him away from the wall. He put his forehead against Rudy’s, forcing the boy to stare into his cold, menacing eyes.

“Sooner or later, Tabootie...” He said in a hissing voice. “You will be mine...”

Rudy’s eyes widened in fear. There was more menace in that threat than he ever heard spewed from Skrawl or any other bad guy he had encountered.

Mr. Cosmo released Rudy and started to walk away from him. Rudy watched him with anticipation and confusion. What was he going to do? He mentioned something about a bigger incentive. So far, Mr. Cosmo hadn’t brought any such thing up. He knew the man wouldn’t have just dragged him here to chit chat. If he wanted to do that, he could have just done so while he was in the same cell as Skrawl.

No, there was another reason he was brought here. He looked around the room, trying to find something that would give him a clue as to what was going to happen next.

Mr. Cosmo gestured for him to follow. Not having much of a choice, Rudy followed him towards the door he had spotted. Even before he entered the room, he soon realized it was not a bathroom like he thought. Instead it was another pretty decently sized room. A tad smaller than the office.

Unlike the first one, which felt pretty empty, this one did have more space used up. Rudy could see pillars rising up from the ground, similar to the cell that kept in him and Skrawl. He could hear crackling and swishing of water. This was another cell. Rudy wondered for a moment if he was to be kept here. Was this his new cell?

Then he realized, as his blood turned cold, that this wasn’t the case. He could hear someone whimpering from inside the area cast off by the bars. He rushed passed Mr. Cosmo, who just smirked evilly at him as Rudy came around one of the pillars to see who the occupant was. He froze.

Laying on the ground in a ball in the middle of the cell was Snap. Rudy couldn’t believe how horrible he looked, even worse than he remembered. He could see blood staining the ground from his hand and back injuries. What else that shocked him was the fact, though it was a little hard to tell, he could see a fresh cut on Snap’s left arm.

Fists shook in rage. Mr. Cosmo had injured Snap again, just for the ‘fun’ of it. The cut didn’t look very deep. Rudy had to fight every instinct not to turn around and punch Cosmo in the face. That would not be a very good idea. He was in the middle of this madman’s lair. One punch and he could be rounded on by a bunch of controlled zoners, or even Draow.

His anger melted away to anguish when he saw Snap raise up his head and look over at him. There was no hint of courage in Snap’s eyes, nothing that indicated his confidence. Just a broken shell is all he could see. Fear, sadness, agony. He could tell Snap was happy to see him. He could see him start to smile. But the smile was forced, and he guessed it was because of the pain.

Rudy wanted to get closer to Snap. He wanted to reach out and try to help him feel better. The bars kept him from getting too close. He could only watch and stare at his poor, battered friend laying in the middle of the cell.

“H-Hello...B-Bucko...” Snap managed to say.

Rudy felt his heart start to break as Snap struggled to his feet. He was so messed up it was hard for him to coordinate himself. He kept tripping over his own feet. Finally, he had to place his hand on a pillar and lean against it for support.

“Snap..I’m...I’m so sorry this happened...” Rudy said as tears began to form in his eyes. “I-I promise I’ll get you out of there...”

“Don’t be s-sorry...” Snap’s voice sounded very weak, like it took a lot of effort for him to talk. “You...you didn’t mean for this to happen...”

“Snap...” Rudy said softly.

Suddenly Snap let out a weak terror-filled cry. Rudy looked behind him and saw that Mr. Cosmo was approaching slowly. Rudy growled and held his arms out, determined not to let the man pass any further. Cosmo stopped and stared at the boy. He raised up a hand and snapped his fingers.

Before Rudy could react, Lars grabbed his arms and held him back. Rudy tried to pull himself away. There was nothing he could do. All he could do was watch with tear-filled eyes as Mr. Cosmo opened the cell and went inside.

Snap’s body shook as the man drew closer to him. Rudy felt his heart shatter. He had seen Snap show fear before, like with Skrawl’s first encounter. But this...this was different. It was so much worse. Snap’s face paled from fear, his eyes were wide. He swore he could see tears streaming down. Cosmo had made Snap absolutely terrified of him, even more than he himself was.

“N-No...get away from me...” Snap said with a whine, his eyes glistening even more.

Mr. Cosmo just smiled as a response. He held out his hand, his fingers slightly hooked as he reached for the zoner.

Snap scrambled back away, trying to get as far as he could from the man. He pressed himself up against the wall. His body continued to tremble as he turned his head over to Rudy.

“P-Please...Make him go away...” Snap begged, his eyes wide with desperation. “I don’t want him to h-hurt me again...”

“Snap!” Rudy called out as he reached out his hand towards his friend. But he was too far away to do anything. He tried to get free. Lars just tightened his grip.

Cornered, Snap cringed and started to whimper as Mr. Cosmo reached behind his head. He grabbed him by his scarf and lifted him up slowly. Too weak to fight back, Snap just hung there, almost limp save for a constant shiver. He stared at Mr. Cosmo with terror as he carried him outside of the cell, holding him like a cat by the scruff.

“Let him go!” Rudy shouted at Mr. Cosmo, desperately trying to pull away from the mind-controlled Lars.

“Oh no...I can’t do that.” Mr. Cosmo said. He lifted Snap a little higher and smiled at the little blue boy. “You see, this thing is still good for one last bargaining effort...”

“He’s not a ‘thing’!” Rudy snapped.

Mr. Cosmo ignored him. He back into the first room. Lars shoved Rudy along behind. Rudy watched as Mr. Cosmo started to carry Snap over to the small tank.

“You see, Rudy, I think I found a way to get any deal I want out of you...” Mr. Cosmo sneered. He stopped half way to the tank and looked behind him. He stared intently at Rudy. “I know how much you care about your little friend here. And that you would do anything for him...am I correct...?”

Fear gripped Rudy’s heart. The way he said it...he didn’t like where this was going.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at Rudy’s lack of a response. Still holding Snap in one hand, he picked up what looked like a large soda bottle. There was some liquid inside. It was clear, almost like water. But when Mr. Cosmo opened it with his teeth, a familiar smell filled the room. The man started to pour it into the tank.

“Do you know what this is, my dear boy?” Mr. Cosmo asked with a dark smile.

“No...oh no...” Rudy’s heart started to pound. “V-Vinegar!”

This was worse than believing it was water. At least water dissolved chalk quickly so they didn’t have to suffer long. But vinegar...it did it much more slowly. Mr. Cosmo...the sick twisted man....he had deliberately chosen vinegar to prolong the suffering and the pain. He could drop Snap in the tank and it would take hours for him to completely dissolve. The process would be nightmarish.

And it was clear that was what the man was intending. Rudy’s heart froze as Mr. Cosmo carried the terrified and injured Snap over to the tank slowly, taking his time as if he wanted to extend the fearful anticipation.

Mr. Cosmo hovered Snap over the vinegar. The blue boy started to weakly thrash, trying to get away from the smelly liquid. He looked over at Cosmo, silently begging him not to do it. He was ignored and he was lowered towards the vinegar. Soon the tip of his feet touched it.

Steam started to rise as Snap let out a bloodcurdling scream. He lowered Snap a little further until half his feet were submerged. He held him there for a few seconds, smiling at his cries of pain.

“Stop that!” Rudy cried, tears flowing down his eyes. “Please...let him go!”

Mr. Cosmo rose Snap back up again. His screams of pain soon slowed down into low, constant whimpers. Steam still rose form his feet where the vinegar started to burn into him.

“You have one hour to make up your mind, Rudy. Either you agree to join me...” He lifted Snap up a little higher and stared into his scared white eyes. “...or your little friend here won’t see the daylight ever again...alive...”

Rudy froze in shock and horror. Was this man really that cold? Was he going to kill his best friend just to...that was sick... Rudy stared at the trembling Snap. He wanted to hold him, tell him it’ll be all right, protect him from Cosmo. The thought of losing him...it was unbearable. Snap was like a brother to him. He couldn’t..no...he wouldn’t let Snap die...

Through his tears, he glared hatefully at Mr. Cosmo. This was a low blow. This was an unreedemable act. How dare this man threaten the life of his friend? How dare he purposely extend his pain and suffering just to make him crack? This man...he was a complete and utter monster...He was disgusting...vile...

“Don’t you....don’t you dare hurt him...he’s already been through enough...” Rudy said with a warning tone. “I’ll....I’ll kill you if you do!”

“My, my...how dark of you...” Mr. Cosmo sneered. He made a gesture with his hand. “Take him to the isolated room. He needs some time alone to think about his choices. And believe me...” He reached down and gently gripped Snap’s chin, tilting his head upwards. “...I trust he will make the right one...”

Rudy felt himself being yanked back. Lars picked him up and slung him over his shoulders like a potato bag. He began to walk out of the room. Rudy reached out his hand, as if he expected his arm to be long enough to pull Snap with him.

“Snap! No! Let me go!” Rudy struggled as they started to walk out of the door. He stared at Snap with wide eyes, tears dripping from them. “Snap!”

The door shut.


	26. Time Will Be Ticking Away

Rudy grunted in pain as Lars threw him into the room. The door shut behind before he could even stand on his feet. The mind-controlled bear walked away.

Rudy’s first reaction was to pound on the door. He hit it again and again to no avail. The door wouldn’t budge. It was locked up tightly and he didn’t have super strength or anything to help him open the door. He gritted his teeth. Snap was going to die soon...unless he either freed himself or...or joined Mr. Cosmo...

His gut tied in a knot at the thought. He didn’t want to join that madman. He didn’t want to use the black chalk...He knew it was the only way to severe his connection with Skrawl. But if...no...when he had to use it, if he used it fast, maybe he could avoid corruption...

But then there was Mr. Cosmo. The way he had talked, he sounded insane. He had lost his mind long ago to the black chalk and it clearly showed. He seemed to be obsessed with getting him at his side. Did it have anything to do with him being similar to Cosmo at a younger age? That might be, though the thought caused him to shake. Mr. Cosmo wanted him to use the black chalk...He wanted him to become ‘enlightened’ like him...

He knew, without a doubt, if he allowed Mr. Cosmo to win, he could very well end up like Cosmo...or even worse... He couldn’t allow that to happen. He didn’t want to turn his back on ChalkZone. He didn’t want to betray his friends.

....but he also didn’t want to lose Snap...

This decision, which he is being forced to make, was the hardest things he ever had to face. Worse than any school test. Worse than looking silly at some party. Worse than terrible grades.

Snap is his best friend. He couldn’t just let him die...but he also couldn’t betray him. Rudy’s lower lip quivered as he realized just how trapped he really was. There was no way out of this. He was left with two choices.

Either he refuses to join Mr. Cosmo and Snap gets killed in the process...

...or he joins, but becomes corrupted with black chalk and ends up betraying Snap anyway.

Rudy fell to his knees, his body wracked with sobs. He slammed his fist into the ground, not caring how much it hurt. He did it again and again, not bothering to look to see if a bruise was forming. Tears flowed down his face. His nose was getting stuffed up. He didn’t care. He wouldn’t even care if Mr. Cosmo came down and saw him like this.

This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. It just wasn’t fair. How could he be expected to make such a decision? How could Mr. Cosmo give him such a cruel dilemma?

There had to be another way around this. There had to be an option, something he wasn’t thinking about before. He sat down cross-legged on the ground, putting his back to the wall, and began to think about the recent events. Surely, something would come to him, bring him some hope that he could get out of this and still be able to keep Snap, Penny, and the others safe.

The only thing that came to mind that could be of any help to him was that mysterious artist Biclops told him and Penny about. The one that had stopped Mr. Cosmo before. If he did it once, he could do it again. He had been so impressed with what this artist was capable of doing. The battle was intense, but the artist was able to box Cosmo into a corner and ultimately defeated him.

He could really use that artists’ help right about now. He would surely turn the tides in all this. He would know how Mr. Cosmo’s mind worked and be able to counter almost anything he threw at them. And his large pterosaur would give Draow a run for his money. The pterosaur was larger and probably even stronger. And that beak looked like it could be used as a powerful weapon.

But Rudy couldn’t let himself get his hopes up. The odds of that artist returning are slim to none. Biclops mentioned how all the memories of the creators were erased. No doubt that included the mystery artist as well. Even if they could find him....it would mean absolutely nothing. He might still be a great artist, but he would have lost all his battle skills and memory of what Cosmo had done.

And who knew if this mysterious artist was even still alive? Mr. Cosmo, after regaining his memories, might have killed him off to ensure there was no opposition to him when he went forth with his plans. And if that were the case, then that meant he and his friends were on their own with this one.

Rudy hated to admit it, but it seemed like that was going to be the case. And look at where it had gotten them. He had once thought they could defeat Cosmo. Now he was hoping they’d all at least make it out alive. He had never faced a villain this competent before. Then again, none of the other villains he faced were this mentally insane either.

His thoughts trailed back to Snap. He took in a shuddering breath, fresh tears coming from his eyes. He had never seen Snap so scared in his life. He wanted so desperately to get in there, to knock Cosmo away, and get Snap out of there. The way he had looked at him as Cosmo drew closer to him, it tore through his heart. He felt like he let Snap down by failing to get free of Lars’s grasp.

The way Mr. Cosmo just picked up Snap like he was a rag doll and nonchalantly carried him over to the vinegar tank...that image would never leave his mind. Snap’s screams still ringed in his ears. He hoped Snap’s feet weren’t too heavily damaged from the vinegar. The poor guy could barely walk as it is. With burned feet, he wouldn’t be able to stand.

He hoped that, if they could get out of this mess, Snap will eventually return to his old self. Snap had always been an outgoing, outspoken zoner who was really brave when the time called for it. Seeing all that shattered because of what Mr. Cosmo did to him was heartbreaking to think about. And what hurt Rudy more is that he didn’t know everything Cosmo had done. He knew about the nail, but not how it got there. He didn’t know the circumstances he had gotten the cut. He didn’t know if it was a swift slice or if Cosmo, just to be cruel, cut very slowly...

“Enjoying your stay so far?” A cold voice said behind him. “I know it’s not the most...comfortable...but it’s much better than where your friend is right now.”

“You...!” A wave of anger hit Rudy as he jumped to his feet. Through the door’s window, he could see Mr. Cosmo. “What are you doing here?! It hasn’t been an hour yet!”

Mr. Cosmo said as-a-matter-of-factly, “You’re not happy to see me.”

“Of course I’m not happy to see you! Why would I be? You tortured my best friend!” Rudy snapped at him. “An hour isn’t long enough to not have to look at your face!”

Mr. Cosmo laughed. “Oh I’m hurt, really I am...” He folded up his arms lightly against his chest. “And after all the trouble I went through with picking out just the right room for you. I chose Snap’s old holding cell. You should thank me. After all, I did think of you when I picked this one room out of all the others...”

The realization of what Cosmo said hit Rudy hard. He turned around and looked around the room. The dismal, damp room with some water dripping every so often from the ceiling. This was where Snap had been kept? This dingy, dirty place?

His eyes gazed over towards the bed. He could see red on it. Blood...

He turned to face Mr. Cosmo. “What did you do to him...?” He demanded in a low voice.

Mr. Cosmo seemed to know, right away, what the teenager was talking about as he answered right away. “That wasn’t my doing. That was from your friend’s back injury from Draow. Old blood. I had nothing to do with it.”

“You ordered Draow to capture him!” Rudy spat.

A dark chuckle. “That may be...but I didn’t order him to seriously hurt your friend. After all, he was going to be of no use to me if he were dead.” His gaze at Rudy seemed to intensify. “Be glad that I thought he was useful, otherwise he’d be dead right now...”

Unable to take listening to Cosmo anymore, Rudy slammed against the door. He pushed his body against it. He gripped his hand on the door knob and twisted it as hard as he could. Cosmo took a few steps back and watched as Rudy attempted to break himself out.

Rudy pushed on the door again and again. He kept slamming himself against it. He kept trying to break off the door knob. He was trying so desperately to get out. He wanted to close the gap between him and this hideous man. He wanted to punch him, make him sorry for all the pain he inflicted on his friend, make him regret using zoners as his personal slaves.

After one final push, he was exhausted. He panted as he leaned agains the door to rest himself. It was no use. He was not going to get out of here. He wasn’t strong enough to break down the door. All he could do was give a look of pure hate at the man that has caused him and his friends so much grief lately.

“Done with your little temper tantrum little boy?” A glare was Rudy’s response. “Good...” Mr. Cosmo reached for something Rudy couldn’t see. The man lifted it up and held it out to him. “This is an hour glass. Because of its name, the sand will run out in exactly one hour. I will place this on the window with some tape. When the sand runs out, you will be taken back to where your friend is being held, and I patiently await your decision.”

Rudy’s body shaked with rage. “You’re such a disgusting monster...”

“The only reason you say that,” Mr. Cosmo said. He used duct tape to secure the small hour glass against the window so Rudy could see it clearly. “Is because you have not yet been given the gift of knowledge from the black chalk. I am no monster, Rudy. And if you let the black chalk teach you as well, you will come to see things in a whole new light, and you will no longer see me as a monster.”

Rudy backed away slowly. His shoulders were slightly hunched. He looked like he was preparing to lunge at Mr. Cosmo. And Rudy knew there was no doubt that, if it weren’t for the door blocking him, that’s exactly what he would have done.

“Never...” He growled lowly.

Mr. Cosmo simply waved his hand dismissingly. He turned around. “And remember, time is ticking. Tick tock...tick tock...” With that, he disappeared.

sss

Penny tried her best to keep with the woman’s pace. Ms. Saffron had broke into a run as soon as they had gotten out of the building. They almost never stopped, only once or twice to take a breather. Penny was absolutely exhausted, her mouth getting dry from dehydration. But Saffron seemed to have a lot of energy in her and just kept running.

No, it wasn’t energy. It was urgency. Penny felt it too. Though she felt tired, and Saffron did too, they both just kept on running because of what was happening back at the headquarters. Rudy was in trouble..and so was Snap. Wherever Saffron was taking her, she hoped they would get there soon. She wasn’t sure how much time her friends had left.

She still wasn’t entirely sure how trustworthy Saffron was. But at this point, she didn’t have much of a choice. And the woman did help her out. She bandaged her wounds the best she could. She did save her from Draow. And she was the one who gave them a chance at escape when Snap was forced to fight them. There was no other explanation she could think of....other than it had been Saffron who tried to help them escape.

Her heart ached as she thought about Rudy and Snap. Ms. Saffron had informed her on just what Cosmo had planned on doing. He was going to threaten Snap’s life if Rudy did not comply, and if he failed, Snap would die, and if he said yes, he would become corrupted.

Mr. Cosmo...what a horrid man... She couldn’t imagine what Rudy and Snap were going through right now. Terrified, she was sure. Rudy didn’t have the power to use magic chalk in the real world, so he can’t get out of this one. What was Rudy going to do...when the time came to make a choice...? Penny bit her lip at the thought of being forced between a rock and a hard place like he had. Poor Rudy...Poor Snap...

Ms. Saffron had told her something else that sent chills up her spine. She informed the girl about how she had walked by a room and heard a zoner screaming and when they came out, they had a nail in their head. And once, she had been unlucky to witness it when she was looking through the security cameras. She had told Penny about what happened to Snap.

Penny wanted to cry when she heard the details of just how the nail was put in Snap’s head. The details were....horrific. She hadn’t been there, but she could hear Snap’s cries of pain echoing in her head. The idea of such brutality done against her friend, and when he was awake, made her blood boil, her hatred for Mr. Cosmo intensifying. And no doubt, he would do more harm to Snap. If he could do something like that...what else could he do? What else would he do?

She sadly wondered how Snap was going to be after this. It was going to take a long time for Snap to recover both physically and mentally. From what Saffron described, Snap had gotten terrified of Mr. Cosmo, and after what happened to him, she couldn’t blame him. He was going to be traumatized. She could only hope that she, Rudy, and their friends would be able to comfort Snap and help him through.

His physical wounds would take some time to heal. He needed his wounds properly treated and disinfected. The worst wound was the one on his back. Saffron said that, although it was treated, it wasn’t done very well and she was certain it had gotten infected as well. She did hold a lot of regret for not realizing the reality of the situation, for not accepting zoners as real sooner. Penny was upset that Saffron didn’t treat Snap’s wound further, but at least she was sorry for it.

Ms. Saffron expressed great concern for the nail in Snap’s head. Her worry and what she said...it had confirmed Penny’s fears. It really was damaging Snap. Ms. Saffron believed that the reason Snap was conscious while the other nail-controlled zoners weren’t was because of where the nail was placed. The others had the nail placed in deeply, avoiding important functions, so the electricity did not really hurt them; they just moved through the brain’s own neurons to perform functions.

She informed Penny that none of the zoners truly lost all their consciousness. They were semi-self aware to an extent. But they were confused and unsure of what was going on. They could react, but it was minimal, limited mostly to reactions, or preprogrammed behaviors embedded in the nail itself.

With Snap, Mr. Cosmo had not placed it in all the way, just at the very tip. Because of this, the electricity, although it still went into his brain to control his functions, much of the electrical outpout went through other parts of his body. The process was very painful. Ms. Saffron guessed he did it this way so that they would witness him suffering, so their minds would crack sooner.

Because of the improper placement of the nail, a lot of damage was being done to Snap’s neurological system, and she didn’t doubt other areas of his body were being damaged as well. Ms. Saffron believed the damage could be reversed if the nail was removed as soon as possible, or the signal blocked, so Snap could begin a recovery. But if it were used just a few more times before removal, she feared that Snap would suffer some permanent damage.

The biggest concern was brain damage. Unlike the other nail-controlled zoners, where the electrical output was small and contained, only used to make the right movements, with Snap, there was more unneeded electricity and it was likely overloading his brain. If Snap continued to recieve electrical pulses in his brain and throughout his body, a number of things could happen. He could even lose the ability to use his arms or legs.

And that was just one thing that could result from brain damage. Penny knew all too well the whole host of symptoms and disorders that could arise from injury to the brain.

Penny’s heart was wracked with intense emotional pain as she thought about what would happen if they had saved Snap too late. She...she didn’t want him to be bed-ridden the rest of his life. She didn’t want him to be confined to his house, for him to lose a piece of his mind while here... She wanted him to be able to walk out of this in one piece, to be able to explore ChalkZone with them with the same sense of bravery and outgoingness that he always had.

The idea that it could all be over...all because of one horrible person...it made her sick to her stomach.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Ms. Saffron placed an arm out in front of her, gesturing her to stop. Penny looked around and was shocked at just how far they managed to travel on foot. But this...this couldn’t be right. Why would they come here? She thought they were looking for the mystery artist, not coming here.

Penny looked up at Ms. Saffron. “Why are we here?”

Ms. Saffron glanced down at her. “I told you we were getting help.” She stared out at what Penny was looking at. “And we will find it here.”

“Here?!” Penny cried in disbelief. “But this is...”

“I know. This is where he resides.” Saffron explained. “When I read the documentaries Cosmo wrote down, I found one called ‘Beware Of Him’, where he had pictures of this one person, and in the documentation, he explained how this one artist stopped his goals from years ago. He even mentioned the name.”

“So you’re saying that...the mystery artist is...” Penny’s voice trailed off.

Ms. Saffron gave a nod, a knowing smile on her face. “Yes.”

Penny couldn’t believe it.


	27. Unforeseen Ally

Rudy tried to block out the sound of the sand slowly seeping into the bottom piece of the hourglass. He tried not to think about it too much. He tried to keep his thoughts clear, tried to keep himself calm. He tried to convince himself that everything was going to be all right in the end.

But who was he kidding? The sand’s sound still seeped into his ears because he knew that, once he didn’t hear that sound anymore, he would be taken back up to be forced into a decision he didn’t want to make. No matter what he said, he would be disgusted with himself. No matter the choice he made, Snap would be disappointed in him.

He didn’t want Snap to die....but he didn’t want him to suffer at his hands, either. What choice could he possibly make that would help them? He was forced into two. A couple of horrible decisions that he would lose no matter what.

Mr. Cosmo had been smart to do this all in the real world. He never understood how Mr. Cosmo got that real world object into ChalkZone to seal the portal he and Skrawl came through into the classroom in the first place. But given all Cosmo had done, he wasn’t surprised at what this man had accomplished. If Mr. Cosmo were more sane and not trying to conquer ChalkZone, he’d admire that about him. But now, all it did was make him more fearful of the guy, wondering what else he was capable of doing.

He had shown, quite clearly, how little he cared about zoners. He made it clear he was willing to kill to get his way. He knew exactly where to strike Rudy. And it wasn’t on the arm, leg, or anything. No, he struck Rudy where it would hurt the most.

His heart.

The sand continued to scrape along the glass, slowly being squeezed through the tiny opening in the middle of the hour glass. Rudy looked over and stared at the object. He watched as the sand slowly hit the bottom of the hour glass, ever so slightly filling up more and more. By this time, there was a layer on the bottom, roughly 35% he guessed. Not at the halfway point, but Rudy knew it was just a matter of time.

The desperation of what was going on made it seem like time was going so much faster. He still had maybe 45 mintues left, but it felt like he only had 5. Every time he looked at the hour glass, it felt like it was going faster and faster. And before he knew it, it was going to be time to be taken back where Snap was.

And that may be the last time he would ever see him... No matter how he looked at it, he knew that, after he made the choice, he’d most likely never see Snap again. Either he would die, or Rudy would become corrupted, and he might kill Snap after that himself...

And...who is to say Mr. Cosmo would even keep his word...? Mr. Cosmo might still kill Snap anyway, just because he could. Snap was so hurt now, Mr. Cosmo would be unlikely to keep him around. He thought zoners were expendable, so why would Cosmo ‘waste time healing zoners’ when he could just ‘have new zoners drawn to replace him’? Rudy wouldn’t put it past Cosmo to do such a thing.

He thought back to Snap’s cut on his arm, and thought, with a shiver, if Cosmo was going to hurt Snap even more. He had hurt Snap for no reason at all, without him being there. He was such a wicked man... For all he knew, he’d arrive in the room and Snap would have five more cuts on him.

And even if he didn’t cut him, there were other ways that sick man could hurt Snap. He could kick him around. He could pour vinegar on him to listen to him scream. He could control him like a puppet again...

The only comfort Rudy had was that Mr. Cosmo would not kill Snap until he made his decision. So he was assured that he would get to see Snap at least one more time before...the unthinkable could happen. His regret as that he may not be able to comfort Snap. He wanted so much to put his arms around his friend and pull him into a hug. Snap had been through so much...he deserved some comforting.

Rudy stared at the door that kept him locked in. He had felt the bottom to see if Cosmo had placed something to keep Snap in. In the real world, Snap could use his two dimensional powers to slip through cracks. He had seen him use it when Terry tried to capture him. There had to have been a reason why he didn’t do it this time, and he had been right.

There were razor sharp blades there. So sharp that a single touch caused him to recoil in pain. The blade had lightly cut his fingers. Tiny cuts with a little bit of blood could be seen. It wasn’t too much damage, but it was enough to make him very angry.

Snap had already been injured before. If Snap had tried to squeeze through here...just what would have happened to him? Even in a flat state, there was no doubt he would have been ripped to shreds, like he was just a discared piece of paper. He guessed that was how Snap got those cuts on his hand. He must have been trying to escape, but quickly stopped when he realized there was something sharp under the door. If Snap went all the way through...would he still be alive...?

Rudy looked down on the bed he was sitting on. He could Snap’s blood hardened on the sheet. It stood out quite easily from the white colored cloth. The sight of it made him wince. He wondered just how much pain Snap had been in. And he shuddered to think at just how much more pain he was currently in right now.

And Penny...where was Penny? She had been dragged down a hole just before Snap disappeared. He still didn’t have an idea on what happened to her. Cosmo indicated he just let her out but..no..he wouldn’t do that. Penny had seen too much. He was certain she was taken somewhere to be...

No...it couldn’t be... Rudy felt tears well up in his eyes. Had she been...killed...? That was the only thing he could think of that happened. Penny saw too much of what was going on, and if allowed out, she could go inform the police and have an investigation on his hands. He must have had her killed, or her mind wiped, or something to keep her from talking.

The thought that he may have already lost one of his friends...it was heart wrenching. He tried to hold back his sobs. It didn’t work. Tears came pouring down as he cried. Penny...he would never forgive the bastard if he had killed her.

And now he might be losing his other friend as well. This was a horrible day for him. Everything has been going wrong recently. Mr. Cosmo had truly been steps ahead of him. He had planned everything out almost perfectly. He had been making a fool of him since day one. And while Rudy tried to outsmart him, he only played right into Cosmo’s little game constantly. And, in the end, it was going to cost him everything he cared about.

He wondered what he could have done differently. There were a lot of things he thought he could have done different. He could have gone to Biclops much earlier and ask him about Cosmo the moment the man started becoming suspicious. He could have not created that portal in the classroom and took his chances with Mr. Cosmo. He could have stayed with Snap when they faced Draow...maybe he could have prevented his capture...

After the hour glass reached the 65% mark, Rudy knew he had to do something, and fast. He pushed away his depressing thoughts of what he should have done. There was nothing he could do to change the past. But maybe...maybe he could still change the future. Maybe he can change his fate. He could try to open the door again. If he could get out, he could try to sneak back in the room and rescue Snap.

He had to try again...

He got out of the bed and glared at the door. There had to be a way to open it. Maybe if he had a hairpin he could unlock it... Unfortunately, he did not. He had to think of something else. Slamming against the door wouldn’t work. He already tried turning the knob to break it. He didn’t have the strength for any of those.

Then he saw it. He noticed something he hadn’t tried before. The window... Could he break it? The window looked large enough that he should be able to loop his arm around to reach the door lock. He looked around the room, trying to find something he could use to break the window. Something...anything...

Laying on the ground, he could see a food tray, clearly made of metal. At least now he knew that Snap was fed while here, not that it made his situation much better. He lowered himself and grabbed the tray. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed it before, but he turned his attention to the door.

He raised the metal tray and started to bang it against the window. It was much harder than he thought. A few more bangs, and there was hardly a mark. But Rudy wasn’t about to give up yet. He hit the window multiple times in the same place. He mustered as much strength as he could with each strike. And soon, his efforts started to pay off. Cracks were beginning to appear.

“Yes..” Rudy whispered with delight. “Just a little more...”

With another strike, the cracks became deeper and spread. Another, the hour glass was getting dislodged from the window. Rudy kept on hitting the window harder and harder. Soon he heard a loud crack and the window gave way. The hour glass fell to the ground and cracked, and he could hear the hissing sound of the sand spilling all over.

Rudy reached out the window. He paid no mind to the sharp glass cutting into his arm. He ignored the pain and the wetness from fresh cuts as his hand found the door knob. He fiddled around with it until he found the lock. He turned it and heard a click.

He was elated that he got the door unlocked. But he couldn’t waste time celebrating. Carefully, he eased the door open and looked in the hallways. He didn’t see anyone. He slowly walked around, walking softly on the ground. He needed to be sure no one heard him walking in the hallway.

He thought about which direction he had come into this place. He remembered he came in from the left. He headed down that way. Trying to remember all the directions he had taken was difficult. But if he wanted to find his way back to Snap, to sneak in and rescue him, he had to be confident in himself. He had only gone certain ways in this building. If he just remembered those ways, then he shouldn’t have much trouble reaching Snap.

But this place was like a gigantic maze, and many paths looked the same. How was he going to be certain he was going the right way? For all he knew, he already missed the way to Snap and was heading towards some unknown place, maybe another hideous room with an equally horrible machine, or some room filled with blood, or some other horrific place.

He didn’t get too far down the hallway. As his hands touched against the wall, he must have triggered something. In a matter of seconds, thick bars rose from the ground, both behind and in front of him. He screamed in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting something like this.

“No..not now...” Rudy whispered in horror. He started to bang against the bars. “No please...” It was no use. He had no way of escaping the makeshift cage that surrounded him now. All he could do now was was wait for Cosmo to come.

And speaking of the monster, it didn’t take long for Mr. Cosmo to show up.

The man looked very amused by Rudy’s attempt at escape. He walked over slowly, nonchalantly, up to the bars. He stared at the teenager with a wicked smile. If the bars were thinner, Rudy would have grabbed Mr. Cosmo by the neck.

“I had a feeling you would try to escape.” Mr. Cosmo said with a smile. “Ms. Saffron managed to get out of that room. So I thought I should increase the security a tad.”

Rudy said, “Ms. Saffron?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Why did you lock her up? I thought she was your ally...”

“She seems to have been...corrupted...” Mr. Cosmo said with a tinge of fake regretfulness. “It seems all that time chatting and being friendly with your blue pal has messed up her mind. She actually seemed to care for the little runt. So I had her detained here. But I must say...I didn’t know she’d be able to send help so quickly...” He paused for a moment, and his smile broaded as he stared intently at Rudy. “But no matter...I’ll let her have her little fun for a while. I’ll take care of her later.”

Rudy glared daggers at the man, clenching his teeth tightly.

“And as for you...”

Rudy felt his body tense up.

“Since you are so eager to see your friend...” Mr. Cosmo snapped his fingers. Rudy’s eyes widened in horror when he saw Draow walk up behind the man. “My...companion and I will be more than happy to escort you back up. I will await your decision...”

“But...it’s not even an hour yet..!” Rudy cried in horror.

“Oh, but all the sand had reached the bottom.” Mr. Cosmo pointed behind the boy.

Rudy looked over. His eyes widened as he saw the sand spilled all over the place. In a way, Mr. Cosmo had been correct. The deal was that he had to make the choice when all the sand touched the bottom. And it sure wasn’t doing anything but that all broken up and shattered on the ground.

He looked at Mr. Cosmo. “I...I can’t...make this kind of decision...”

“Oh sure you can.” Mr. Cosmo tapped a finger against his head. “You just gotta think real hard, and decide what is more important to you... free will...or your best friend...” He chuckled evilly as he opened the front bars. “Grab him, Draow.”

As Draow stalked towards him, Rudy took notice of something red on his wing claw. He felt his heart freeze. Could it be...Penny’s blood...?

He didn’t have time to question it as Draow grabbed him by his left arm. He bit down hard, drawing blood from Rudy’s already injured arm. He let out a cry of pain as the beast whipped his head swiftly to one side, the force putting pressure on his pained left arm.

Draow dangled Rudy in front of Mr. Cosmo. The man cupped his chin tightly and stared into his green eyes.

“I do know that you will make the right choice.” He said with a smile.

On instinct, Rudy, in an attempt to defend himself, tried to bite Mr. Cosmo’s hand. But he only ended up biting air as the man had pulled his hand back just in time.

“I should be careful. Could’ve lost a finger.” The man said with mock concern. He turned around and began to walk down the hall. “Come, Draow. And don’t let our guest go...”

Draow followed close behind, holding Rudy tightly in his jaws.

sss

Ms. Saffron held onto the hook above the car door. She hung on tightly as the driver made another sharp turn, the wheels squeeling against the road pavement. She heard Penny grunting, and knew she wasn’t having as much luck at hanging on.

She understood they had to get back to the building as soon as possible, but this man could take more care in not driving like a madman. What if they gotten into a car accident? Or went the wrong way? This guy was driving so fast, she was amazed that he was still able to make all the right turns. How long would that last, exactly?

As they went through another four way intersection, she looked over at the man. She had some doubts that this was the artist that they had been looking for. Penny was not the only one to express doubt. But as soon as she mentioned Mr. Cosmo’s name and what he had done...the middle aged man seemed to spring to life.

It was clear that he took all of this very seriously. Even though he wasn’t sure if it was possible Mr. Cosmo really had returned...he wasn’t going to take any chances. They had left almost right away to get back to the building. Ms. Saffron said she knew the building well and that she could tell them which path to take.

Up ahead, she could see the building come into view now. They were almost there. She could only hope that they weren’t too late.

sss

Rudy seethed in pain as Draow dragged him into the room where Snap was being held prisoner. The beast obviously took no care to make sure he wasn’t biting him too hard. He didn’t hear his bone’s break, so his arm wasn’t broken. But it sure felt that way with the way Draow’s teeth were tearing into his arm. His blood kept dripping on the ground, leaving a trail behind as Draow walked.

Mr. Cosmo was walking just in front of them. He kept a brisk pace, like he was excited to hear Rudy’s answer. He paused, letting Draow walk out in front, and turned to shut the door. Draow carried Rudy towards the front of the room and dropped him. Rudy groaned in pain and held his arm tightly.

He could see Snap in the cage. His widened eyes were looking at him in worry and fear. Rudy was grateful that he didn’t see any new wounds on his friend. But that gratefulness soon vanished as he reminded himself of what was about to happen.

He moved closer to the cage. The bars were not far apart enough for him to reach in and comfort Snap. All he could do was stare at his friend with great concern. It was painful for him to see Snap this way, deprived of his personality because of the pain he had to endure. He wanted to speak. He wanted to say something to put Snap at some ease, but what could he say? He had no idea how he was going to get out of this mess.

He finally manage to choke out, “S-Snap...” He didn’t want to believe that this may be the last time he’ll ever see his friend, alive or not.

Snap tried again to get to his feet. He did a little better, but only for a second. As soon as he took a step, he fell to the ground. He cried out in pain as he hit the cold, hard floor.

“Snap!” Rudy cried with tears in his eyes.

He had been wrong. Snap wasn’t in the same condition as he first saw him. He was worse. Before, he could manage to walk, if just barely. Now it seems like even taking one step is too hard for him. Rudy’s eyes trailed to the nail in his friend’s head. Had it...had it damaged Snap enough that he could no longer walk...?

No...it wasn’t the nail... Rudy’s mind flashed back to the vinegar Snap was dipped in. The vinegar had done a lot more damage than he thought. He looked at Snap’s feet and he felt his hearth wrench when he saw the burn marks. Deep red plastered all over his feet. He hadn’t noticed it initially because of the angle Snap was in when he walked in.

Now he could see the burns quite clearly. As Snap laid there, he took notice of his feet twitching in pain. Rudy bit his lip, choking back a sob. He didn’t doubt that Cosmo did that on purpose so that Snap couldn’t try to get away from him this time.

Giving the room a quick look around, he could see the vinegar tank off in the corner. The smell still hung strongly in the air. Before, he never really thought anything of vinegar. It had never been a concern to him. When he did the experiment in school, he never thought that his best friend would be endangered by the stuff. With a pang, he wondered if Mr. Cosmo knew about the experiment and decided to use it for this occassion. If that were the case... Rudy felt horrible.

The vinegar tank had been placed where Snap could easily see it. It felt like a deliberate act, like Cosmo wanted to taunt him on what his fate could end up being. It was no wonder Snap was faced away from that one particular wall. He didn’t want to look at his own death...

Mr. Cosmo opened up the cage door again, the bars vanishing with a sparking sound. Rudy immediately started to rush over, but Draow put his head in the way and snarled at him. Rudy backed up slowly, staring at Draow in fear. Unable to do anything, he watched as Mr. Cosmo went in to fetch Snap.

As Mr. Cosmo got closer to Snap, the blue boy raised his head and started to tremble. Snap’s low cries filled the room, pulling at Rudy’s heart strings. Snap couldn’t do anything to get away. He pressed himself against the ground, as if doing that would keep him safe.

“D-D-Don’t hurt me...p-please...” Snap stammered, holding back a sob. “Don’t...”

Mr. Cosmo knelt down towards the zoner. When he had himself lowered, he turned his head over to Rudy. “Well, Rudy...have you made up your mind...?”

Rudy watched as Cosmo ran his hand lightly along the back of the shivering Snap’s head. Petting him like he was some kind of animal... Rudy growled lowly in anger, but held his tongue. He was afraid if he said anything about that, Cosmo would hurt Snap again.

Snap cringed back, his body tense from the unwanted touch. He didn’t try to scoot away. With his damaged feet, he couldn’t get far. Rudy had a sad feeling that Snap would still lay there even if his feet weren’t damaged. He was frozen in fear, the actions done to him by Cosmo traumatizing him.

“I...” Rudy couldn’t bring himself to say more. He looked away.

“Look over here, boy...”

His mind and heart filling with dread, Rudy forced himself to look back over to Cosmo and Snap.

A twisted smile came onto Cosmo’s face. He started to push a little harder on Snap. Rudy could see the look of discomfort in his friend’s eyes. He saw his hands push against the floor in a weak attempt to get away.

“What do you want more...?” Mr. Cosmo asked slowly. “Your free will...or Snap...?”

In a second, Mr. Cosmo seized Snap again. His fingers wrapped around the blue boy’s throat. He lifted him with a swift motion into the air. Snap let out a strangled cry and started to struggle. He pulled at Cosmo’s hand in an attempt to get free.

Rudy watched in horror. “Snap!”

Mr. Cosmo smirked at the zoner trying in vain to escape. He looked back at Rudy. “It is your choice, Rudy Tabootie...so...” He began to walk over to the vinegar tank. As he positioned Snap over it, he said with a sneer, “..what will it be..?”

In desperation, Rudy cried, “No! Please...don’t do this, Mr. Cosmo! Let Snap go! Please!”

“Oh I’ll let him go all right...” Mr. Cosmo started to loosen his grip on Snap...while he was still hovered above the vinegar. “I’ll let him drop right in here...”

“No!” Rudy’s face was stained with tears. He reached out towards Snap, only to be held back by Draow. “No...please...don’t do it...”

Mr. Cosmo tightened his grip again. He lowered Snap a little closer to the vinegar. “If you want him to live to see another day....you know what you must do...”

“I...I...”

But Rudy couldn’t think of anything to say. Thoughts swam in his mind, confusing him for a moment. What should he do? He could say no, but lose Snap. He could say yes, but he might still lose Snap anyway. He couldn’t win. But it seemed like...he didn’t have much of a choice... He...he wasn’t going to let Snap get tortured and killed like that...and if he wanted him to have a chance at survival....

Seeing no other alternative, Rudy lowered his head in defeat. The tears continued to fall form his eyes. He looked up at Snap. “I-I am so sorry...Snap...please forgive me...” Snap’s eyes widened like he knew what Rudy was about to say. “O-Okay Cosmo...you...you win...” He let out a soft cry. “Just..please don’t hurt Snap anymore...”

Mr. Cosmo grinned triumphantly. “I knew you would come to your senses.” He began to walk away from the vinegar and towards Rudy. “I guess this chalk creature really means that much to you.”

Snap’s struggles increase. “No, R-Rudy...you c-can’t..!”

“Shut up!” Cosmo snarled at the struggling zoner. He pulled out a knife and, with a single motion, sliced against Snap’s right cheek. Snap let out a scream.

Rudy gasped in sheer horror. “No!”

Snap fell silent and began to whimper as fresh chalk blood dripped from the new cut. He turned his head away from the man, closing his eyes.

“Next time, I will take out your eye...” Mr. Cosmo hissed, glaring menacingly at Snap. “So keep your mouth shut...” He turned his attention back to Rudy. “Now...where were...?”

Suddenly there was a whistling sound. Draow’s ears pricked up and looked around for the source. Mr. Cosmo frowned and looked around the room as well. After the whistling, there was a couple of clanging sounds, like something fell on the ground.

Then, a second later, a loud bang. Rudy and Snap cried out in pain. Mr. Cosmo hissed and staggered back, releasing his grip on Snap. Draow howled in agony and swayed from side to side. A strong smelling smoke filled the room.

Rudy struggled to open his eyes. He was starting to feel a little dizzy. He heard a thud and saw that Cosmo and Draow had collapsed on the ground. He looked over to where Snap was laying prone on the ground. The smoke grew thicker. He could see someone picking Snap up, but he couldn’t recognize who it was.

Despite covering his mouth to try to avoid breathing in the smoke, it was a futile effort. Rudy’s body was wracked in coughs. He noticed this mystery person was coming towards him. His mind eventually gave into the smoke and, as he was being dragged out, he fell unconscious.

sss

“Rudy?”

A voice called out to Rudy. It sounded familiar. All Rudy could see was darkness. He felt so tired, so weak. His eyes remained closed.

“Come on, get up! We need to get moving!”

There was that voice again. It sounded less echoy this time. Slowly, Rudy’s eyes opened up and he struggled to sit up. He let out a groan and rubbed his head.

“Thank goodness you’re okay! I wasn’t sure if throwing smoke bombs was a good idea. But I didn’t know what else to do.”

Through Rudy’s hazy state, his eyes started to focus a little. The blurred colors and shadows began to take shape. His mind slowly remembered what had happened. He looked over at the source of the voice. And he couldn’t believe who he was staring at.

“Mr...Mr. Wilter?!”


	28. Adding Twists To The Past

“I...I...” Rudy breathed in, trying to take in what had transpired. “You’re...you’re...”

He thought he had to be dreaming. There was no way this could be true. Mr. Wilter....he couldn’t be the artist from the past... He had always ranted and raved about how he hated cartoons. He didn’t know anything about ChalkZone. If Wilter had ever caught him or anyone else drawing on the chalkboard, he would yell at them, or even assign them detention.

He wondered if he and Snap had actually died when the smoke hit them. And this was some sort of afterlife that was just a conjure of random thoughts. No..that would not be very logical. He wouldn’t feel any pain if he were dead. And his head was aching him. Then again, when dealing with a world made of chalk, just what did the term ‘logical’ entail anymore?

He rubbed his eyes a few times. Maybe they were just still a little too cloudy to see clearly. He blinked a few times and looked at the man. No, it was still Mr. Wilter. There was no mistaking him. That large nose, the red suit, the receding brown hair...it was him all right.

Mr. Wilter’s facial features were a little softer than he was used to. He rarely ever saw Mr. Wilter look this concerned and worried about someone before. And especially not directed at him. The man was down on his knees, keeping an eye level with Rudy.

Rudy took notice of something on the ground next to Mr. Wilter. It was a gas mask. That would explain why Mr. Wilter didn’t collapse from the smoke in the other room. Now that he was far away from the smoke, there was no need for the mask anymore.

“I understand your confusion, Rudy.” Mr. Wilter said. “There’s...a lot I haven’t told you...”

“Yeah... I mean...out of everyone, I didn’t think you’d be the one to rescue me and Snap...” Rudy’s eyes snapped wide open. He whipped his head left and right. “Where is Snap?!”

Rudy remembered seeing Snap being carried out with him. But he couldn’t see him anywhere. What had happened to him?

“It’s okay. He’s over there.” Wilter moved aside and moved his hand to point to where Snap was laying down. “He hasn’t woken up from the smoke yet.”

Rudy could see Snap on the ground. He was on his stomach, his head turned to the side. Rudy tried to stand up, but the smoke was still affecting him. He slid back down before he could get all the way to his feet. He began to wonder if the smoke was damaging. He looked up towards Mr. Wilter, who guessed what was on his mind.

“Don’t worry, the smoke shouldn’t cause any real damage. It just incapacitates individuals for a short time.” Mr. Wilter said. “Unfortunately..this means that, pretty soon, Mr. Cosmo will be awake. And no doubt, he will be looking for us.”

Rudy gritted his teeth at the mention of that man’s name. When all was said and done, he wanted that Mr. Cosmo got what was coming for him. All the sorrow he felt earlier about Snap’s condition turned into fiery hate towards the man who caused all of it to begin with.

Before, he wasn’t sure how he was going to get back at Mr. Cosmo for what he had done. Just a short while ago, everything seemed so hopeless, like nothing he did would get them out of this mess. It was distressing, a terrible feeling. He hated feeling so helpless. He wanted to be able to help Snap...Penny...the citizens of ChalkZone. He wanted to be able to defeat Mr. Cosmo like how he had beaten the other bad guys in ChalkZone.

Now, things seemed to be finally looking up for him. A ray of hope was starting to shine. As shocked as he was to see Mr. Wilter, and as hard as it was for him to digest that he was the mystery artist from the past, it was a comfort knowing he was not only still alive, but seemed to remember Mr. Cosmo and had come to save him and Snap. With someone who had faced Cosmo before at his side, they would have a better chance of winning.

Rudy’s mind halted for a moment. Something didn’t seem right. If Mr. Wilter had known about Mr. Cosmo and the danger he presented, then why had he allowed him to come to the school? Why had he allowed him to take Rudy back into the abandoned classroom?

Either Mr. Wilter didn’t really remember every little detail, he was lying and could possibly be working for Mr. Cosmo, or...there could be another factor he wasn’t considering.

As if on cue, Mr. Wilter spoke.

“I do feel regret I didn’t do anything earlier. I was a little suspicious when he sought you out, of all my students. Something about him did feel fishy...” Mr. Wilter said. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I was a fool. I should have realized that his memories had started to return much sooner. I should have seen the signs. Had I known, I could have helped you sooner.”

Rudy was unused to this amount of sorrow and regret from the person he thought would never become an ally. This didn’t sound like the Mr. Wilter he knew. And that had him wondering. Just how much of Mr. Wilter did he not know of? How much of Wilter’s behavior had been genuine...and how much had been an act to mislead him?

Rudy couldn’t help but feel angry at Mr. Wilter for not telling him sooner. He was right. A lot of things could have been prevented if he had said something. If Mr. Wilter had told him, they wouldn’t have had to try so hard to sneak into ChalkZone. Things would have been a lot easier.

But it was too late now. And at least Mr. Wilter finally fessed up. This was still going to take some time getting used to, though. Mr. Wilter...the man who saved ChalkZone years ago from Mr. Cosmo? If he had been told any of this a couple years ago, he would have laughed at the very idea.

“I suppose you want me to tell you the story, am I right?” Mr. Wilter asked Rudy after a bit of silence.

Rudy replied, “Well...Biclops already told me what happened...”

“There’s some details I am sure he left out.” Mr. Wilter said. He sat down next to Rudy, pressing his back against the wall. “I can tell you more, if you’d like. This tunnel’s security cameras were disabled earlier. Ms. Saffron and Penny took care of that. So we have a little bit of time to talk before Cosmo gets them back up and running again.”

“Penny...?” Rudy breathed. “She’s...she’s alive...?”

Mr. Wilter smiled down at him. He gave a slow nod. “Yes, Rudy. She is. Ms. Saffron rescued her from Draow’s grasp. She’s injured, but not too seriously. She’ll be okay.”

Rudy smiled. He felt so relieved and elated that Penny was okay. He had been so worried about her. He wasn’t sure if she was dead or alive. Mr. Wilter’s confirmation made him feel so much better.

But that smile soon faded when he remembered what he had seen earlier, when Draow went over to grab him. The red on his wing claw...

“So that blood I saw on Draow’s wing...” Rudy whispered. “It really had been Penny’s blood...”

“I’m certain you are right about that.” Wilter said in a regretful voice. “She’s lucky it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Draow is...quite a monster himself. He is the most resilient and dangerous of the zoners Mr. Cosmo has created.”

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a moan from where Snap was. Rudy watched in anticipation as Snap slowly raised his head. His eyes blinked a few times and looked around. He felt his heart sink when Snap immediately showed fear upon waking up. Not at him or Wilter, but looking around for Cosmo, as if he were just around the corner, waiting for him.

When Snap’s eyes fell on Rudy, there was a moment of silence. Snap continued to stare at Rudy. The look of fear and confusion in his eyes... Rudy wondered if Snap was thinking this was a dream. After all he had been through, he couldn’t blame the poor guy.

“R-Rudy...?” Snap said in a slighlty scratchy voice. “Is...is that really you?”

“Yeah Snap...it’s me...” Rudy said. He smiled. He felt tears starting to form, these of happiness instead of sorrow. “Mr. Wilter got us out of there. You’re safe now. Cosmo isn’t here.”

Mr. Wilter seemed to understand that the two needed a moment. He got up and he moved away. He couldn’t leave them behind though. So he just sat on the other side of the tunnel. It was the best he could do to give the two some time together.

Snap’s face brightened up a little. He still looked worried, but he was still happy that, for the moment, he wasn’t in any danger. He clearly wanted to get closer to Rudy. He started to drag himself over with his hands as his feet were too damaged for the moment to be of any use.

Rudy’s heart tightened as he saw his friend try to crawl over to him. Rudy’s light headedness started to go away. He leaned forward towards Snap, reaching out his hands for him. Luckily the tunnel wasn’t too wide, so it didn’t take long for Snap to get close enough for Rudy to grab him.

Rudy gently grabbed Snap by his uninjured hand. Being very careful, he pulled Snap off the ground and into his arms. This moment felt almost like a dream. After all Cosmo put them through, he had a hard time believing that he was reunited, for real, with his best friend. It was almost too good to be true. But he knew, without a doubt, this was no dream. Sometimes reality is better than dreams...

Snap cuddled up closer to Rudy. He pressed his head against Rudy’s chest and he wrapped his arms around Rudy tightly, afraid to let go. He started to shake and tremble in Rudy’s arms. Tears flowed from his eyes as he started to cry.

“Rudy...it was so horrible...” Snap said, sniffling. “He...he did terrible things to me...he told me that I was never leaving this place alive...”

Rudy’s lower lip quivered as tears of sadness began to drip from his eyes. “Oh Snap...” He cradled Snap gently, minding his injuries. “He won’t hurt you ever again... I promise...”

Although Snap’s shivering and sobbing slowed down, it was clear he was still frightened. Rudy bit his lip, trying to think of something he could do to help Snap feel safer, to provide a sense of comfort for his friend. He rested his chin on Snap’s head, careful not to touch his forehead, where he knew the dreaded nail was.

That’s when Rudy noticed there was something silver taped to Snap’s head. That wasn’t there before. He looked over at Mr. Wilter.

“Yes, I put that there.” Mr. Wilter said, getting the thing of what Rudy was going to ask him. “It will block the signal from Mr. Cosmo’s mind control devices. He won’t be controlling Snap ever again.”

At this, Snap slowly turned his head until he could see Wilter with one of his white eyes. A small, weak smile came onto his face. “Th-thank you...”

Mr. Wilter smiled for a moment. Then he narrowed his eyes lightly and he looked towards the ground. “We still need to get you to a hospital soon to get that...that thing removed from your head. I was able to stop the signal so you shouldn’t get anymore damage. But a lot of harm has already been done to you.”

Rudy’s heart wrenched. “So you’re saying that some of the damage could become...permanent?”

Mr. Wilter winced, then slowly nodded his head. “I am afraid so, Rudy. The damage could still be reversed if that thing is taken out soon. But with Cosmo tailing us, I don’t know how fast we can get to a ChalkZone hospital.”

“So...” Rudy bit his lip, afraid to ask. But he had to know. “...how long does he have before...?”

Snap looked up at Rudy worriedly. He pressed himself a little closer. Rudy responded by hugging him slightly tighter, careful not to hurt him.

Mr. Wilter was silent for a few moments. His already worried expression deepened. Rudy knew that wasn’t a good sign. His heart sped up as he awaited the worst possible news.

“I would say...” Mr. Wilter said regretfully. “About six hours. And that’s a best case scenario.”

Rudy’s eyes widened. He looked down at his injured friend, then back at Mr. Wilter. “Six...hours?”

Wilter nodded his head once. “Yes. Six. The mind control thing he placed in Snap is actually just an upgrade from something he created way back, shortly after his corruption. Biclops told me about the victims, who recovered and who did not.” He took in a deep breath. “Snap has six hours left before the damage becomes irreversable.” He looked at Rudy. “Have you...noticed any neurological problems?”

Rudy took in a sharp breath. He thought back to when he was first brought to Snap. He remembered vividly his friend trying to walk, only to be unable to balance himself and tripping a lot. A tear streamed down his face as he looked at Mr. Wilter.

“Y-Yes...He...he has trouble walking...” Rudy said softly. He stared at Snap’s burned feet. “Even before that monster injured his feet so he couldn’t get away...”

Mr. Wilter’s eyebrows furrowed with concern and regret. “I...am sorry. I wish I could have given you better news.”

Rudy didn’t reply. He just continued to hold onto Snap. The reality of the situation hit him like a sharp stone. He felt his heart being yanked down by tremendous emotion. He felt like he was slapped in the face. He didn’t to believe it. He wanted Mr. Wilter to be wrong, that Snap would be okay when all this was finally over. He wanted to be able to go on adventures with him again, to have fun like they always did before.

The idea that it may never happen again, it tore his heart open. He felt an uncomfortable pain in his chest as he tried to digest what Mr. Wilter told him. Fresh tears strolled from his eyes, wetting his cheeks. He turned his head away so that his tears didn’t land on Snap and hurt him more.

The finality of it all was more than he could bear. He wanted to run, get out of here. He wanted to get away from anything that reminded him of what happened.

It just wasn’t fair. Out of everyone...why did it have to be Snap? He hadn’t done anything to deserve this. He had even helped save ChalkZone more times than he could remember. He shouldn’t have to suffer like this. He should only have to worry about big things, such as dealing with another one of Skrawl’s schemes. He shouldn’t have to worry about something that should be mundane, such as the simple act of just getting around his home...

“B-Bucko...”

Snap’s coarse voice caught his attention. He looked down at his injured blue friend. Snap was giving him a pained smile. “Snap...” He whispered.

“Please don’t cry...” Snap said weakly. “None of this was...your fault.”

“I...I don’t want to lose you.” Rudy choked, his eyes red with tears. “I can’t lose you again.”

Snap let out a soft chuckle. He reached over and touched Rudy’s hand lightly. “You feel that? I’m still here.”

“Snap...” Rudy’s lip quivered. He wiped away his tears and pulled Snap into a tighter hug. “You’re...you’re like a brother to me...” He choked back a sob. “I...I love you...”

Snap’s weak smile broaded just ever so slightly. “Love ya too, p-pal...”

Hearing that made Rudy’s heart ache even more. Now, more than ever, he wanted to make Cosmo pay for hurting Snap. He was not going to get away with hurting who he saw as his little brother. He didn’t know how, but somehow, he was going to get even with that evil man.

As Rudy continued to cradle Snap in his arms, he finally took notice of his arm, the one that had been damaged by Draow’s jaws. Something thick and white covered it, wrapping around like a snake. Bandages.

He looked down at Snap again. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed earlier. Maybe he was too muggy and distressed to really take notice. But Snap’s wounds were also bandaged up. Unlike his, the bandages Snap wore were clearly from ChalkZone given their appearance.

There was only one why either of them could have gotten the bandages on them. He looked over at Mr. Wilter.

“Did you do this?” He asked, gesturing to the bandages that were on both him and Snap.

Mr. Wilter said, “Yes. I was able to grab a medkit because I had a feeling I would be needing it, knowing what Cosmo is capable of.” He glanced down at Snap. “When I heard that your friend from ChalkZone was in trouble, I had Penny go into ChalkZone briefly and draw a medkit. It didn’t have to be the best-looking, just so that it worked. I treated you and Snap when you were still unconscious.”

“Where are Penny and Saffron?” Rudy asked.

Wilter replied, “We will be catching up to them soon. They had to go fetch a...friend of mine.”

“Friend?” Rudy looked at him, confused. “Who?”

“You will see.” Wilter said with a smile.

Rudy wondered if he was referring to his pterosaur from years back. But it could always be someone else. Like those child drawings he found in Mr. Wilter’s house. Maybe they were coming to help. Or someone that Rudy hadn’t thought of... But Wilter could be right. He would find out soon enough.

Rudy realized there may not be much time left before Mr. Cosmo woke up. He looked over at Mr. Wilter, biting his lip lightly. There were things he still wanted to know. Stuff that he didn’t fully understand. Wilter may be able to provide most of those answers.

“Biclops...he made it sound like everyone, including you, who had been to ChalkZone...got their memory erased.” Rudy said slowly. “I..don’t understand. How do you still remember? Did you get your memory back or something, like how Cosmo had?”

Mr. Wilter shook his head. “No. I always had them. Although Biclops had little trust in humans, he did let me keep my memory...as a thank you for stopping Mr. Cosmo. He had a...personal grudge against the man.”

Rudy nodded his head, his eyes narrowed. “After what he did to ChalkZone....no wonder he didn’t trust me at first.”

“No.” Mr. Wilter said.

That single word uttered shocked Rudy, even though Wilter hadn’t explained. He stared wide-eyed at Wilter. What was he talking about?

Not bothering to wait for Rudy to ask him a question, Wilter continued, “Biclops disliked Cosmo even before he was fully corrupted.”

Rudy blinked his eyes. “What? I don’t understand.”

“I’m not surprised. Biclops doesn’t like to talk about it. But if there is one thing I am certain he hasn’t told you...” Mr. Wilter paused for a moment. He stared at Rudy, his eyes intense. “Has Biclops ever told you who his creator was?”

What Mr. Wilter was implying disturbed Rudy. No...it couldn’t be...could it? Slightly shaken, he shook his head.

Wilter closed his eyes. “It was Mr. Cosmo...”

“What?!” Rudy cried in unison.

“You’re...kidding right?” Snap said softly, his voice filled with disbelief.

“I wish I were...but I’m not. You see, when Cosmo first found the black chalk, the first thing he drew was Biclops...or Cyclops as he was referred to as back then. Shortly after, Cosmo...started to give into the corruption of the black chalk. You know most of what happened after that, I’m sure.”

Rudy nodded slowly. He was having a hard time letting this sink in. His mind flashed back to when Biclops, when he still had only one eye, had shown him what happened before. The images of the chalk creatures wreaking havoc, made by careless creators...those weren’t just mischevious kids. Those were some of the artists Cosmo had corrupted. And that boy, the one who made Biclops, that had been Cosmo as a kid...

Mr. Wilter’s story was not yet finished. “Cosmo had been unusually intelligent even back then. He’s worse nowadays, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t cause harm back then. During his reign of terror, he had created something as a method of trying to control ChalkZone. A prototype to outright mind control that he’s going with now.”

“What did...he do?” Rudy asked cautiously.

“Mr. Cosmo...is the creator of the red chalk.”

“What...?” Rudy was stunned, his eyes filled with fear. “How..how did...”

“The black chalk.” Mr. Wilter said. “It gave him knowledge on how magic chalk works, on a deeper level than you or me. That is how he is able to create new types of chalk.”

“I...I don’t believe it...” Snap whispered. “I..I knew the psycho was dangerous but...to be able to create chalk...”

Rudy nodded in agreement. This was worse than they had imagined. Mr. Cosmo...the one behind the red menace that is locked away in the Chalk Mine. Rudy’s respect for Biclops increased as he realized the giant had been taking care of his creator’s mess.

“I do apologize for not telling you this sooner, Rudy. But...I had to pretend to not know about ChalkZone, in order to keep it safe.” Mr. Wilter explained. “Even if there was a time when I really wanted to help you, I wasn’t allowed to. It was too big a risk to let too many humans into ChalkZone. No one wanted a repeat of what happened. Though the black chalk is locked away...that isn’t a guarantee an artist won’t find it.” Mr. Wilter sighed. “Just look at what happened to Cosmo...”

Something slowly dawned in Rudy’s head. “So...the reason that you have been my teacher all these years...”

Mr. Wilter replied, “It was to make sure you had a chance at getting into ChalkZone during school hours, if you so needed to. Other teachers would have noticed the strange occurrences. I turned a blind eye so you and Penny could interact with ChalkZone.”

The teacher got up and walked over to Rudy and Snap. He sat down next to them. He let out a breath. He glanced down at the confused boy.

“When you were just a little kid, I saw your potential. You had always been so kindhearted. I knew that there would come a day when ChalkZone would need a new protector. I had spoken to Biclops. He was, understandably, sore at the idea of letting another creator in. But..he agreed to give you a chance, and test you. I placed the last box of magic chalk that I had kept with me for years by the blackboard.”

“You mean...you...” Rudy said, stunned.

Mr. Wilter gave a nod. “Yes. I am the reason you got into ChalkZone in the first place.” He leaned back against the wall, his head tilting upwards. “I know I’ve said I hated cartoons... A part of me does, but that is just bitterness. I didn’t exactly like being kicked out of ChalkZone, despite saving it. But..still..it was for the best, at the time.” He looked down at Rudy. “I’m sorry I’ve been harsh on you at times, like with your chalk and vinegar test. I’ve only been like that to ensure you never give up doing art. Reverse psychology and all...”

The amount of information Rudy was recieving was staggering. But he and Snap had no time to let it digest. All of a sudden, a loud screech could be heard right above them. They all looked upwards, frozen. A second later, another screech and a crash could be heard.

Wilter narrowed his eyes. “Draow is awake... And that means so is Mr. Cosmo.” He got up and gestured to Rudy and Snap. “Come on, we need to get moving. Staying in one spot is suicide.”

Carefully, Rudy slung Snap across his back, just like how Penny had been carrying him. He held onto Snap’s legs while the blue boy wrapped his arms around his neck gently. He followed Mr. Wilter down the tunnel.


	29. A Few Tricks Of My Own

Rudy supported Snap as best as he could as he ran along behind Mr. Wilter. Running was their best option according to the teacher. If they walked too slowly, they could be more easily tracked. At least with running, they could put in more distance between them and Cosmo, in theory. Wilter was not familiar entirely with the building, so he warned both Rudy and Snap that they could end up in a trap if they aren’t careful.

Running wasn’t exactly the best thing to do with Snap on his back. He did his best to keep his grip on him and not letting him slip. He tried not to bounce Snap too hard. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. He took care not to touch his feet. He could tell they were still hurting Snap.

But the running made this a little hard to do. Every time his foot pounded the ground, he could feel Snap budge upwards slightly from the force. So far, Snap hadn’t cried out in pain, but he didn’t take comfort in this. Snap could either be faking it, trying to be strong for Rudy, or he could have become unresponsive. His thoughts went back to when he thought he saw him sleeping on Penny’s back. He had second thoughts. What if the reason he was quiet then was because of the damage the nail did to him?

He wanted to talk to Snap. He wanted to get him to show some signs that he was awake. That would have been a bad idea for two reasons. It could weaken Snap further, forcing him to use up more of his strength. And it could draw attention to them. Wilter told them to be as quiet as possible, only to speak in whispers. Draow had excellent hearing and if they spoke too loud, he just might hear them.

Soon they reached the end of the tunnel, only to be confronted by a labrynth similiar to what he encountered on the upper level. He growled in irritation. What was with this man and mazes? Did he construct them so that, in case prisoners escaped, they would have a heck of a time trying to get out? He wondered how many of these paths led to nowhere, and how many led to dead ends.

He wouldn’t doubt they would be boobie trapped as well. Any one of them could have sensors lining the walls, triggering whenever he’d cross them. And if that happened, they’d be trapped in an electrified water cage again...or worse.

Wilter held up his hand. “Stop.”

Rudy stopped in his tracks. “What is it? I thought we had to keep moving.”

“Shh....” Wilter said as he approached the tunnels. “Knowing Cosmo, one singular path would be untampered with, so he won’t get caught in his own traps.”

Rudy didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it before, but it made sense. There would be a safe path Cosmo would set aside for himself. If he didn’t do that, than he wasn’t really bright. Rudy silently wished Cosmo really was that dense. He’d be a lot easier to take down.

Wilter narrowed his eyes as he stared at each tunnel. He seemed lost in thought. He looked at the openings in front of him and scratched his chin, foot tapping. Rudy watched and waited, hoping that Wilter could pick the right path for them to go down.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes slightly widened as he stared at the far left tunnel. “That tunnel may be our best bet.” He said, turning his head to face Rudy and Snap. “Its coloration is slightly different from the rest of the tunnels. I am sure Mr. Cosmo altered the coloration of the tunnel slightly so he would remember which tunnel to take.”

Rudy walked up behind Mr. Wilter as they headed towards the tunnel. Though he trusted his teacher’s judgment, he still felt apprehensive. What if it led them down into some unknown danger? He tried to calm himself. He did have Wilter at his side now, which would make things a little easier for him.

They didn’t run right away in the tunnel. Wilter wanted to make sure the tunnel was safe. He walked out ahead first. He took a few steps in. He went in a little deeper. Only when he reached about thirty feet down the tunnel did he gesture for Rudy and Snap to come down. After this, they broke into a run.

This underground place was massive. It had to have encompassed a space larger than the building on top itself. He wondered what this lower section had once been for. He had never heard of a building having such a massive underground labrynth, wider than the building. There were no signs anywhere of what this place had once been. Cosmo really had this place renovated.

He couldn’t imagine how he had pulled it off. It was scary to think about. This man...he had shown a level of intelligence he was not used to dealing with. The only comfort he had right now was Mr. Wilter being with him. He dealt with Mr. Cosmo before. He would have a better idea on how to deal with him.

The running was starting to get to him. They had been running for a while now. He could hear Wilter’s ragged breathing up ahead. He was getting tired too. Rudy tried to keep a running pace, but he found himself unconsciously slowing down into a slow walk. His heart pounded hard against his chest. He hunched over, mouth wide open to take in more oxygen with each breath. His throat was starting to feel dry. He was getting really thirsty. A water bottle sounded really nice right about now.

Mr. Wilter pressed his back against the wall of the tunnel. “We should take a break.”

“But...” Rudy panted. “What about Cosmo?”

“If we wear ourselves out,” Mr. Wilter replied, “We will never get away from him. If he found us while we were exhausted, believe me, he would take advantage of that. We should rest and get some of our energy back before continuing.”

Rudy felt relieved to be sitting on the ground again. He gently put Snap back in his arms again. He was afraid that if he set him on the ground, he would accidentally hurt him some way. Plus he wanted to make Snap feel safe and secure, and he knew he felt that way when he held him. Snap nestled into Rudy’s arms comfortably, laying his head on his chest.

Rudy watched Snap’s eyes start to close a little. They would only remain closed for a second before pain would wake him up. Rudy had been careful not to hurt him, but some of the injuries radiated with pain even without a touch. Despite being treated, he was certain some infection had started to enter his body. With the damage to his neurological system, infection was the last thing Snap needed.

He felt something cold against his arm. He looked down and saw a water bottle. He looked up at Mr. Wilter, who smiled at him as he held his own water bottle. Rudy looked down at the bottle, smacking his dry lips together. Holding Snap with his bandaged arm, he reached over with his right arm and grabbed the bottle. He attempted to open it with his teeth when he heard a low whine.

He looked down and saw Snap staring up at him in fear, eyes wide. No, it wasn’t him he was looking at. It was the water bottle. Rudy knew something was very wrong. He knew water would kill Snap, but he had never seen Snap react this way to a water bottle. He would believe it if someone threatened him with it, but he sure hadn’t done that. Something must have happened to Snap to create this reaction.

His thoughts immediately went to Cosmo. It had to have been him. He did something to Snap with water while he wasn’t there, the bastard...

“Snap, what’s wrong?” He said in a calm voice to his injured friend. He felt bad about wanting to get his friend to talk, but he had to know what happened. It was the only way he could provide some comfort. He set the water bottle down in a place where Snap couldn’t immediately see it. He was still frightened after that. “What did Mr. Cosmo do to you?”

Snap shivered as he looked up at Rudy. “He used water to get this...thing in me...” He used a hand to motion towards the silver thing taped to his head, indicating the nail underneath.

Rudy’s eyes went big. “He used what...?” Was Mr. Cosmo insane? If he wanted Snap alive, why would he risk using water? Unless he was just a psychopath who wanted to cause Snap misery, which he wouldn’t doubt for a second.

Snap spoke in a shaky voice, “H-He s-strapped me to a table...Cut my head open with a s-scalpel...Then he put a drop of water on my head... It hurt so much...” He let out a sob. “He covered my mouth so I wouldn’t s-scream...told me to shut up...”

Rudy felt a lump in his throat as he tried to hold back a sob. Tears filled his eyes as he listened to Snap’s story.

“Th-Then he put the nail in me...He pushed so hard... I...I felt like I was being set on fire..” Snap’s voice broke and he hugged Rudy tighter. “I finally p-passed out...the pain was too much...”

“He..” Rudy choked. “He did that to you while you were awake?”

Snap nodded his head once.

Rudy couldn’t stop the fountain of salty tears that covered his face. He held Snap closer to himself. The nail in his head was cruel enough but did Cosmo really have to do it while he was awake? That was just...brutal and unforgiveable. He never thought he would meet someone who was that cruel and vile...Putting water on a zoner was like putting molten lava on a human. It was absolutely heartless.

“He’s a terrible man.” Mr. Wilter said quietly. He stared at Snap sympathetically. “I am so sorry you had to go through that, Snap.”

Snap didn’t reply, but he gave a knowing nod to the teacher.

“S-Snap...” Rudy whispered. He watched as Snap continued to look at him. He wanted to try to comfort him. He reached down and touched Snap’s uninjured cheek. “Everything will be okay...” He used his finger to gently wipe away Snap’s tears. “I will protect you from Mr. Cosmo...I will not let him anywhere near you ever again...”

Snap gave a grateful smile back.

“Oh? Is that so...?”

Everyone in the tunnel froze. Chills went up Rudy’s spine. He felt his hairs on the back of his head stand up. Mr. Wilter looked just as shocked as he was. And Snap went pale and started shivering in fear. No...it was impossible. Mr. Cosmo couldn’t have found them that quickly, could he? This couldn’t be happening...no...

Slowly, hesitantly, he looked towards the source of the voice. His worst fear had been confirmed. There was no mistaking Mr. Cosmo. He stood several feet away from them, walking towards them with a slow, deliberate pace. He was smiling very calmly, not looking at all upset that they had escaped earlier. He must have been confident that he’d find them before they could get out.

And sure enough, he had.

Mr. Cosmo stopped when he was ten feet away from the trio. He stared intently at Rudy. He folded his arms against his chest. “I would like to see you try.” His eyes fell onto Snap as he said this. He gave a grin and chuckled as Snap gave a quick scream and pushed himself against Rudy to get away.

Rudy shifted his body to try to shield Snap from Mr. Cosmo’s eyes. He glared hatefully at the man. “You are not going to hurt him again...” He said, his voice low.

“Hmph...we’ll see.” Mr. Cosmo then turned his attention to Mr. Wilter. For a moment, his eyes flashed the faintest hint of fear, clearly remembering this man defeated him before. But then, in an instant, his calm demeanor was back. “I must say, dear Wilter....I never thought I’d have to deal with you again. Maybe you aren’t as stupid as I thought you had become...”

“How did you find us?” Mr. Wilter demanded.

“Did you think I left you out of this little equation, Wilter?” Mr. Cosmo said with a sneer. “Admittingly, I didn’t think I was going to need to do this, but hey, it worked out in the end...for me...” He grinned darkly.

Mr. Wilter found nothing funny about this. “What did you do?!”

“I merely took something of yours and gave it to Draow so he could get your scent. He is an excellent tracker.”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes and growled through clenched teeth.

“Face it, you three...” Mr. Cosmo said as he started walking towards them. Rudy took a few steps back because of Snap, but Wilter stood firm. He put himself in front of Rudy. “You have no where to go...”

A low growl caught their attention. They looked behind them. In the only other direction they could go in stood Draow. He walked towards them, snarling, wings spread out. His teal eyes seemed to glow in the tunnel. They turned to look back at Mr. Cosmo.

“You are trapped.” Mr. Cosmo said, his eyes sparking black for a second. He stared at Snap. “I told you, little blue creature...you will never leave this place...alive...”

The way he said ‘alive’ sent cold chills down Rudy’s spine. He didn’t take too well to Snap being called a creature. He wasn’t some mindless beast. He was sentient, and the fact that this man refused to see that, or if he did, simply didn’t care, infuriated him. If Snap were in a better condition, he would lunge at the man and punch him in the face.

He watched as Draow got closer. He turned around to face the beast. The blood that came from Penny still clung to his claw. He wasn’t sure just how intelligent Draow was, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Draow kept the blood there on purpose, in an attempt to mess with his mind and show just how dangerous he was.

Snap stared wide-eyed at Draow. His turned his head up to look at Draow’s wing claw. He shuddered, clearly remembering that it was Draow who hit him in the back, that it was Draow who brought him to this dreadful place.

Rudy took a step back and found himself hitting against Mr. Wilter’s back. He didn’t know which direction they should go. Mr. Cosmo was unpredictable. He might have some traps waiting for him. And who knows what else... And Draow’s path was no safer. The huge beast could tear into them easily. With how carelessly he had carried him to where Snap was being held, Rudy knew the beast wouldn’t think twice before tearing into him if Cosmo gave the order.

“So tell me, Mr. Wilter...” Cosmo said, grinning in Wilter’s direction. “Why are you helping that blue runt...? I thought you hated cartoons. That’s what I heard another teacher say when I came by your school.”

Mr. Wilter growled at the evil man. “I am not heartless...not like you.”

Mr. Cosmo smirked at this. “You’re right. You’re not like me...” He took a step back. His eyes glinted. “You...are a fool...”

Rudy glared at Draow was he got closer to him. He was pawing the ground, scraping against it. Rudy winced as the sound hurt his ear drums.

“I admit, I made a mistake of not getting rid of you sooner.” Mr. Cosmo said, smiling darkly at the teacher, prompting a growl as a response. He shrugged it off. He leaned back slightly, his eyes brightening. “But first, let me get rid of some...unwanted weight...”

Something seemed to click in Mr. Wilter’s mind. He whipped around quickly, taking both Rudy and Snap by surprise. He grabbed them in his arms.

“Look out!”

With that, he jumped away just as Draow broke open a piece of the wall. A jet stream of water shot out. Rudy and Snap screamed in horror at just how close the rushing water had been. The two were shaken up, staring at each other in shock. They looked up at Mr. Wilter.

“Thank you...” Rudy whispered, stunned by what had happened. He shuddered at the sound of the water just in front of him. He moved back, getting Snap away from the water. “How did you...?”

Mr. Wilter said, “I know the way this man thinks. It would suit him to set up a trap like that.” He turned back to Cosmo. “When facing him, expect the unexpected.”

The water slowly stopped running. Draow kept back, snarling at the thin wet line that formed in the water’s presence. Great relief hit Rudy and Snap as the sound left their ears. Rudy pressed his chin on Snap’s head. He was shaken up by how close he was to losing Snap for good. Had it not been for Mr. Wilter, Snap would have...died. He choked back a sob.

“Oh you shouldn’t have done that.” Mr. Cosmo said, sneering. “That would have been the less painful way out.”

Rudy’s body started to shake from rage. “You said you wouldn’t kill Snap if I...”

“Considering that you left,” Mr. Cosmo said with a smirk, “That means you declined my offer. And as part of my little deal with you, if you were to decline, your friend there would meet his end...”

Mr. Wilter placed a hand in front of Rudy. “Stay away from them.” He warned.

“Oh I will. It is not I who will be dealing with the blue thing...” Mr. Cosmo said. He raised a hand and snapped his finger. “Draow...kill Snap.”

Rudy held Snap protectively as he glared in Draow’s direction. The wolf/bat beast let out a roar and was walking towards them slowly. His feet were able to step away from the wet stream on the ground. Rudy took a few steps back. He could feel Snap shaking in his arms. He was not going to let anything else happen to him. He made a promise that he would keep him safe, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

He heard a grunt sound behind him. He looked over and he saw Mr. Wilter beind pressed against the wall by Mr. Cosmo, no doubt to leave him alone to deal with Draow. Rudy took another step back as the beast drew closer. Rudy tried not to take any more steps. The more he took, the closer he got to...him... If Draow didn’t get him, Mr. Cosmo sure would.

Draow pawed at the ground. His chalky drool hit the ground as he opened his jaws. He lowered himself on his haunches. His tail swished back and forth in anticipation. It wouldn’t be long now before he would make the lunge.

Rudy gritted his teeth. He tried to weigh his options. He could try to run past Draow, but he could risk getting attacked. That would also put Snap in harm’s way. He couldn’t allow that creature to bite him, not in his state. He looked behind him. He could run towards Mr. Cosmo, but that came with its own risks. Cosmo could have traps waiting for him, or more controlled zoners. Or he could release Wilter and seize Snap. He remembered the knife he had. He cut slit his friend’s throat open...

Things weren’t looking good for him. He was trapped, utterly trapped. There was no way he could go that he knew was safe. His only open was to try to keep Draow away from Snap, but how was he going to do that?

Draow let out a screech. He flapped his wings once, then he jumped at the two, jaws split wide open. Rudy closed his eyes, hugging the whimpering Snap for dear life.

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash. The wall caved in, causing dust to rise from the ground. Something large and green slammed into Draow, pressing him hard against the wall. As the dust cleared, Rudy was shocked to see it was a pterosaur. The same one that helped to save ChalkZone years ago. He watched as Draow struggled to get free, but the pterosaur had him firmly pinned with its body.

“What?!” Mr. Cosmo cried in disbelief. “Tsere? What is he doing here?!”

“Surprised?” Mr. Wilter smirked. “Do you think you’re the only one who has a few tricks up their sleeve?”

“Rudy!”

Hearing that familiar voice, Rudy looked up and saw Penny on the back of the pterosaur. She jumped off Tsere’s back and rushed over to her friends.

“Penny! I’m so glad to see you!” Rudy said with a grin.

Penny smiled back. “I’m so happy to see that you are safe.” She glanced down at Snap. Her eyes widened. “Snap...” She whispered softly.

“H-Hello, B-Buckette...” Snap said, trying his best to smile. “I’m sorry for..t-tossing you down that hole.”

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault.” Penny whispered.

“Save your reunion for later!” Mr. Wilter cried. “You need to get out of here!”

With that, he slammed his knee against Mr. Cosmo’s stomach. The reporter stumbled backwards, holding onto his stomach. Before he could react, Wilter slammed against him, pressing him into the ground. He hooked his arm around his neck while the other held one of his arms behind his back.

“Run! Tsere and I will keep these two busy!” Mr. Wilter ordered.

The trio wasted no time. With both Cosmo and Draow distracted, they made a break down the tunnel.


	30. Worse Than I Imagined

Snap hung onto Rudy. He didn't grip too tightly because he didn't want to choke his friend. The feeling of bouncing up and down didn't feel good to him. But he understood Rudy didn't mean to and was taking care not to hurt him further. He did his best to ignore the pain and instead let some feeling of relief wash over him. At least he wasn't near...that man...anymore.

Snap didn't say anything to Rudy about the pain. He didn't want him to freak out over him while they were trying to escape. They were going to take him to a hospital anyway. He trusted that Rudy would be able to get him there in time. Rudy had always managed to pull through in the end. He saw the look of determination in the teenager's eyes. He knew Rudy would do anything to help him.

He shuddered as memories began to haunt him of his recent stay here. It hadn't been so bad to begin with. Sure, he was hungry a lot, and he felt that he wasn't fed enough. But the accomodations were much better than what he had to deal with when moved into Cosmo's...torture room as he liked to put it. He felt somewhat glad that Rudy hadn't been there and hadn't witnessed exactly what he was put through in the short time he was stuck there.

He remembered Cosmo's threats vividly. The evil man was talking to him about which way he was going to kill him should Rudy refuse his offer. And he had no choice but to listen, curled up and shivering on the ground. One method Cosmo had considered was forcing him to drink the vinegar, burning and melting him from the inside out. He was thankful that the only amount of vinegar he had to endure was on his feet.

He let out a soft whine as he remembered the pain. His feet still hurt, but not as bad. It was still better than what he'd have to go through if he had drank the vinegar. If he had done that, he wouldn't be able to live for very long. His stomach hurt thinking about it.

Seeing the vinegar tank from where he was placed in the cell was bad enough, and it frightened Snap terribly. It took him a while to shift himself to face away from it. Looking at the thing just brought about nightmares in his head, playing while he was awake. But the vinegar tank wasn't the only horrible thing Cosmo had done during his visit.

He had been tortured, more than what Rudy had known. And it wasn't just the cut. He winced as he remembered the pain of his arm being cut open. Cosmo had done that to make him shut up with his sniveling. Aside from the cut, Cosmo apparently had a backup controller to his mind control nail. He didn't use it often since he had moved away from that plan, but when he did use it...utter pain and torment is what he had to endure.

Everytime he used it on him, electricity coursed through his body. He could feel his brain being fried, his body feeling like it was set on fire. Everything hurt. Everything ached. And that was just when it was activated. There mere act of moving against his will, it felt like his ligaments and muscles were being ripped apart. And the pain from his injuries worsened. He could feel the scabbed areas break open again, fresh blood drip from it, everytime he was being controlled. He could feel the wounds begin to burn, and he was worried they would lose the ability to heal up.

He had been forced to walk near the electrical water bars at least five times whenever Rudy was not there with him. Cosmo didn't go as far as make him touch it, otherwise he'd be dead. But he did torment him mentally with this action. Snap would cry out, beg for mercy, every time he got within an inch of the water. He would fight back against the control, try to move out of the way. But the device's hold on him was too strong and his body would not obey his commands.

Snap didn't understand why he did that, other than to smash his spirit further and to weaken him. He wanted him to be in such a weak state that it would break Rudy's heart. That did make him angry. The idea of torturing someone just to get to another, it was sick.

But Snap's anger had given way to fear and sorrow. He hated Cosmo, but mostly he feared him. The pain he had been forced to endure, it was more than he could bear. He was often afraid to close his eyes now, because all he'll see behind them is Cosmo's face, then the memory of the pain would come flooding back to him.

He did feel a little better having Rudy with him, as well as Penny. Being away from Cosmo also helped. Not having to look at his face or hear his voice...it was a tremendous relief for him. As they ran down the hallway, taking educated guesses with turns, Snap rested his head on Rudy's shoulder. He wanted so much to sleep, but the pain was preventing him from doing so. Instead, he opted to look at his surroundings, seeing where they were.

They seemed to finally have gotten to the end of this tunnel. It opened up to a large room. There were a set of stairs that led upwards. To where, he didn't know. The room had a lot of equipment in it, mostly building machines of ChalkZone origin. Snap briefly wondered if that was how Cosmo built this place.

Suddenly, as Rudy rounded a corner to sneak into the room, Snap suffered another 'episode' as he called it. It happened a few times now. He would blank out...that was the best he could describe it. His vision would cloud over, causing him to become blind. His sense of hearing would get garbled up, and most of the time he didn't hear any voices. His muscles would tingle and he'd no longer be able to move them, causing his eyes to close on their own. He'd become still.

Then..he'd just snap out of it. And some time would have passed. A few minutes usually. In an instant, five to seven minutes could pass as if it were just a second, and he'd have no memory of what had happened between them. His mind had shut down...and that frightened him. The talk of permanent damage didn't help. And he knew that his blanking out was the result of this mind control device; he never suffered from it before.

As if that wasn't scary enough, he was actually having a really hard time moving his legs. His arms still worked okay. But a lot of damage was done to the region that controlled his legs. He could still move them a little, but bending his knees was really hard. And it took a lot of effort to move them at all. Him falling down earlier, part of it was due to the burned feet. But even if they weren't burned, he'd stil have a hard time. Granted, he probably could walk a little further, but he would have fallen down without support anyway.

He was scared by the idea of it being permanent. The six hour limit was a terrifying thing to hear. For zoners, becoming permanently damaged was terrible due to their long lifespans. He had heard some zoners talk about it, even stories of a few that committed suicide because they couldn't handle it. He shuddered at the thought.

He tried to remain hopeful, for Rudy and Penny. He knew he had to at least try. There was still a chance that he could be saved. There was still hope that all the damage done to him could be reversed after the nail was taken out. There was always the chance that, as Rudy told him, everything would be okay.

But he began to wonder, would he really be okay? His spirit took a heavy blow while staying here. Even with Rudy and Penny, he didn't feel entirely like himself anymore. He didn't feel courageous. He didn't feel social. He just felt lost and scared. And he wasn't sure if he would recover. It frightened him. He didn't want all their fun to end because of this. But though he'd often tell himself to be brave, every time Cosmo appeared, all that would vanish in an instant. The same thing happened with Draow. Any amount of courage he had been trying to muster...it'd just disappear the second danger appeared.

He didn't want to change. Not like this. He desperately didn't want to lose a part of himself. His physical wounds may heal, but what if his emotional ones do not? What if he was stuck being such a...such a coward? He didn't want this. He just...he just wanted to go home...He wanted to go home...

Suddenly the world around him went black. It lasted what seemed like a split second. When he had come to, his vision was incredibly blurred and shadowy. As it cleared, he could see Rudy and Penny staring at him worriedly. They both looked like they had been crying for some time.

As his surroundings became clearer, he found they were hiding in the corner, behind one of the machines, of the room they had entered. He thought he heard footsteps around them, but he couldn't tell. They were so faint. He realized he was laying on his back, his arms out at his sides. His head was cocked to one side, and he felt some wetness. Drool? He lifted up his head to get a better look at Rudy and Penny.

"Wh-What happened? Wh-Why are you l-looking at me like that?" Snap asked groggily.

Rudy and Penny looked at each other worriedly. Snap didn't like this. Something was seriously wrong. He could sense it. When Rudy turned to answer, Snap waited in dreadful anticipation.

"You...you had a seizure..." Rudy said, his voice trembling. He wiped away a tear.

"It was horrible." Penny whispered, hugging her arms to herself and shivering. "You were thrashing around so much...convulsing horribly...Completely unresponsive..."

Snap's eyes widened at this. A...a seizure? He had a seizure? He tried to hide the fearful tears that started to form. Of all the times for him to get seizures...it had to be now... Why? What did he...what did he ever do to deserve this?

Penny sniffled. "It must be that thing in your head..." She said softly. "It...it must have done a lot more damage than we thought. We...we have to get back to ChalkZone..."

"Mr. Cosmo is a monster. The mind control, the vinegar..." Rudy grumbled angry under his breath.

Penny's whipped to Rudy so fast Snap could barely register it. "Vinegar?! You mean like your experiment at school?"

Rudy nodded his head. "Mr. Cosmo...threatened Snap with vinegar. He burned his feet with it..."

Penny gasped in horror, holding her hands to her mouth. "Snap..." She looked down at Snap, her eyes watery. Her eyes turned down to his feet and she let out another gasp. "C-Cosmo...did this to you..?"

Snap nodded his head once. He didn't want to remember that moment. He thought his feet were being ripped apart by saw blades. Even when they were pulled out, pain wracked through his body for several seconds before it started to dull down. Even then, the pain never left. His feet still hurt him now.

"C-Come on...we need to get going." Rudy said. He looked around the room. "The controlled zoners are gone..."

"Controlled zoners?" Snap whispered. He sort of remembered Lars, but his mind was so messed up that he could only remember Cosmo's torture of him, the horrifying vinegar, and Rudy's cries of horror for him from that terrifying moment. "H-How many...?"

"We don't know." Penny said regretfully.

"Lars and Blocky are a few we have confirmed." Rudy said sadly. "Lars has a nail in his head like you, Snap. Most of the zoners have bracelet controllers that don't seem to cause as much damage."

It scared Snap to know that some other zoners were captured. He wondered if some of them went through the same torment he had. It was bad enough that Cosmo done all that terrible stuff to him. But it was unbearable to know that a lot of his friends were suffering a similar fate as well.

What did this madman want with all these zoners? Why was he controlling them? Why was he even asking that? He knew why. He thought little of zoners. His words stung as he remembered them, being called a 'creature' and a 'thing', as well as many other derogatory words he used on him, a lot he said when Rudy wasn't even there to hear it. At first, he had tried to retort back, but he had been kicked in the side as a warning. He never tried retorting back after that.

Then a thought crossed Snap's mind. He stared up at his friends. "I-Is...Rapsheeba..?"

Rudy smiled. A weak one, but a smile nonetheless. "She is fine. And you don't have to worry about other zoners being trapped in here. She's taking care of that."

Snap smiled in relief. It was nice to know that at least some of his friends managed to escape. But he had to wonder...how were they going to save the others? He wondered if Rudy or Penny had a plan for that. They couldn't just leave them here. Something had to be done. He..he didn't want them to suffer, the way he had...

Luckily, that seemed to be what was on his friends' minds. The mention of the controlled zoners must have brought it to their attention.

Penny looked at Rudy. "We still need to find a way to get these zoners back into ChalkZone. We'll need to find a way to destroy the machine that is controlling them."

"Which is heavily guarded, I'm sure, and no doubt Mr. Cosmo would use Skrawl's connection with me to..." Rudy's eyes widened. "Skrawl? I forgot about Skrawl... He is still in that cell we were dropped into..." He looked at Penny. "We have to go back for him."

"What? But Rudy, we need to get out of here. Once we stop Cosmo, we can save everyone, including Skrawl." Penny said. "It's too dangerous to stay in here for long. We don't have much time to save Snap."

Rudy winced and looked to the side. "I know..." He looked down at Snap, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "But..." He let out a soft sigh. "I can't fight effectively against Cosmo while connected to Skrawl. We need to take care of that as soon as possible. And we'll be in ChalkZone anyway. We could drop Snap off at a hospital while we are there."

"Rudy..." Penny started to say. "The black chalk..."

"It is a big risk." Rudy lowered his head. "But it's the only chance we have. And Biclops says it doesn't corrupt right away. So if I use it, then drop it, everything should be good...shouldn't it...?"

Penny didn't sound so sure. "I guess...but I think we should take care of this last. Cosmo is of a more pressing matter, and Snap's time is running out. We need to get him help, and stop Cosmo. Let us worry about the connection later."

"I don't know..." Rudy said, sounding very lost. A moment later, he looked around the corner and said, "We should at least get moving... The controlled zoners are gone for now. If we hurry, we can get through without being seen."

Penny got up, moving towards the corner. She moved up to where Rudy was standing.

"I wonder where they've all gone..." Penny wondered. "Maybe Saffron managed to get to the mind control machine faster than I thought..."

"Let's hope it is that, and not something else." Rudy said with a physical flinch. After a second, he added, "We are still getting Skrawl out of that cell. He would make for a valuable ally in getting to the chalkboard without as much resistance. We'll drop off Snap at the hospital and get back here to take care of Cosmo, and rescue the other zoners."

"B-But...what if he doesn't want to help...?" Snap said, coughing a few times. "He is your archenemy..."

"I know, Snap. But we can't just leave him, and I'm sure he wants to get back to ChalkZone as much as we want to. And besides, if Cosmo gains control of him again..."

Penny seemed to understand. "Then he could be used to stop you..."

"So long as Skrawl is with us, Cosmo won't have that card to play." Rudy said, his eyes narrowed.

At first, Snap didn't understand why Rudy would want to waste time saving Skrawl. But after he explained it, he started to understand. He did make a good point that Skrawl could be used against Rudy. He hadn't known about the connection until now, and it was a frightening thought. Cosmo could simply kill Skrawl, and be rid of Rudy for good. He had no idea how this man accomplished it, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. The man was scary enough. He didn't need another reason to be afraid of him.

It did make sense to rescue Skrawl. They didn't have to severe the connection right away, as Penny had said. So long as they had Skrawl with them, Cosmo would have a harder time subduing Rudy through Skrawl.

Snap wasn't going to be happy to see Skrawl. But right now, he'd rather see the ugly jellybean than Cosmo. Skrawl was much tamer by comparison. He was nowhere near the level of cruelty that Cosmo had displayed. And perhaps having an amusing conversation with the frustrated jellybean could lift his mood, even just by a tiny bit.

"Let's get going, while Ms. Saffron has bought us some time." Penny said.

Rudy nodded his head. He looked over at Snap. He lowered himself down to his friend. "Come on Snap, let's get going."

Rudy gently picked him up. Snap did his best not to wince. No matter how gentle Rudy could be, his back injury was still irritated. The only reason he didn't struggle was because this was Rudy, his best friend, and he knew that he wasn't trying to hurt him on purpose. He liked the feeling of security as Rudy held onto him. It was comforting. Especially after all he had been through.

Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. As Rudy eased him onto his back, something just didn't feel right. Something felt...strange. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. It was like some part of him was missing. But..that couldn't be right. He knew he was entirely there. But then, why was he feeling like something was gone?

It soon dawned him on what it was. The realization sent horror chills down his spine. No, it couldn't have gotten to that point, could it...? His heart started to race, reality slowly sinking in. He didn't want it to be true...

He didn't realize he was crying until Rudy and Penny took notice. He felt Penny touch his cheek, looking at him worriedly. Rudy's eyes were wide with concern.

"What is it? What's wrong...?" Rudy asked hesitantly.

"Does something hurt?" Penny asked, eyeing him up and down. "Is it your back? Your feet?"

"M-My l-legs..." Snap started to say.

"Where does it hurt?" Penny said as she walked alongside Rudy to get a good look at Snap's legs. She gingerly touched one leg. "Right here?"

Snap shook his head. "No...they don't hurt.."

Rudy asked, confused, "Then what is..."

"I..." Snap sniffled, frightened. "...I can't feel them... I can't feel my legs..."

Rudy and Penny gasped in utter horror at this news. Snap closed his eyes and started to tremble.

"C-Can you move them...?" Rudy asked fearfully.

Snap knew he had no choice but to tell Rudy the truth about what he was experiencing with his legs. "B-Barely...It...it takes all my effort to move them just a little...and I think it's getting worse..."

"Oh no..." Rudy started to cry. "No..no...This can't be..."

"The seizure...it..it must have..." Penny wasn't able to finish as her voice started to choke on her cries.

As they continued to flee, an uncomfortable silence fell upon them.


	31. I Will Not Allow This

If there was one thing Mr. Wilter never expected he had to deal with, it was Mr. Cosmo for a second time. He had been aware of him becoming a reporter, and how renouned he had become. He had been cautious of him for a time, but reminding himself that his memories of ChalkZone were erased, he thought that danger from him was all over. Oh how he had been so dead wrong.

He was hard enough to deal with as a kid. He had been so inventive even back them, and he created so many competent, powerful zoners to be on his side. He even managed to recruit, alongside other artists, other zoners he did not draw. Others did try to stop Cosmo and his reign of terror. But they all had failed because they were trying to focus on attacking all the enemies. Mr. Wilter succeeded because he, himself, focused on the one person that mattered, Mr. Cosmo. He knew that if he stopped him, he stopped the madness. And it had worked.

That had been many years ago. The memories of that fight were still vivid in his head, however. It was hard to forget the screams of agony as zoners were being hurt, or the ferocious roars of the evil creations Mr. Cosmo conjured up. Things got worse when he had introduced the red chalk and created some crimson colored creatures whose savagery outmatched any zoner of other chalk type, even those who were meant to be nasty to start with.

He wished he had been more suspicious when Mr. Cosmo came to the classroom. The only reason he did not turn it down was because Cosmo had offered to pay him a lot of money, and the principal said they needed that money to help fund the school. When he kept hinting for Rudy, he did try a little to resist, as something about it didn’t feel right.

He realized too late he should have tried harder. He had been working on grading some paperwork at the school when Ms. Saffron and Penny rushed into his classroom. When Saffron told him about Mr. Cosmo and how he was planning to do something with ChalkZone, she immediately had his attention. Wilter felt a pang of guilt when he learned that Rudy and Penny were both captured by Cosmo, and he was horrified when he learned that Mr. Cosmo got his memories back of ChalkZone.

He had no idea how he managed to get his memories back. He thought Biclops said it was permanent. None of the other artists got their memories back. Only Mr. Cosmo. There had to have been a trigger of some kind. It had to be some trigger, but the only thing he could think of was seeing an image of ChalkZone somehow. He didn’t know how that was possible.

The thoughts of the other artists made him worry. If Cosmo could remember again, what would stop the other artists? This was worrying indeed. Though Cosmo was the most dangerous and the ringleader of all this mess, the other artists, the ones that had been corrupted, were no sweet angels either, thanks to the dreaded black chalk. If they remembered, ChalkZone would be in big trouble.

He hoped that Rudy and Penny manage to get out of the building safely. So long as they were in Cosmo’s turf, it was going to be hard defeating him. With his high intelligence and beast Draow, it would not be easy fighting back. Rudy and Penny were just teenagers after all. If they brought the battle to ChalkZone...then things might start to shift in their favor.

And he hoped it was soon. He wasn’t sure how long he could hold out against Mr. Cosmo. He had gotten a little rusty and he hadn’t physically fought in a long time. Mr. Cosmo was a little stronger than he was, which put him at a bit of a disadvantage.

At least Tsere was having a better time. He was managing to keep Draow pinned on the ground. Though the winged wolf-like beast was trying to bite his neck, the pterosaur managed to keep his head raised while holding him down and clawing at him with a free foot. Mr. Cosmo is easier to deal with when he didn’t have Draow at his side. Draow was most of his brute force, and without him, he loses a lot of his power.

At least in the real world. In ChalkZone, he would be more dangerous than Draow as he would draw any weapon he wanted to and use it against his enemies. His personal favorite were the cannons that spewed out hot flames. He was grateful he never thought of bringing real world water to ChalkZone. If he had done that...all would have been lost...

He had his arms wrapped around Mr. Cosmo and kept pushing him into the ground. He only managed to hold him there for a short time before Cosmo squeezed out of his grasp and threw him against the wall. Before he could react, Mr. Cosmo grabbed him by the throat and shoved him further against the hard surface. Wilter struggled with the hand on his throat, making it hard for him to breathe normally.

“You’re a bit out of practice...” Mr. Cosmo taunted. “You should just stick to grading those papers from your idiotic students. You are too old for this.”

Mr. Wilter snarled at him. He kicked Cosmo in the right shin, causing him to stagger a little. He went behind him and used his foot to push him into the ground. Once Cosmo was on the ground again, he jumped onto his back and put him in a choker hold. He pulled back tightly, hearing Cosmo gag a little from the pressure. Wilter struggled to hold on as Cosmo started to squirm.

“What...do you plan on...doing with ChalkZone...?” Mr. Wilter said through gritted teeth.

“Ch-ChalkZone? I g-guess...Ms. Saffron...di-didn’t tell you...” Mr. Cosmo hissed with a ragged breath. “O-Or maybe she for-forgot...Either way...I’m not...telling you...”

Mr. Wilter had been confused by why Ms. Saffron didn’t tell him. At least at first. But given the urgency, he understood that she couldn’t tell everything that happened. She told him enough to have an idea of what was going on, and he immediately left. Well almost; he had Penny create a medkit for him. Then they left. He did drive a little crazy getting there, but they had no time to lose. And he was relieved he got there when he did.

He overheard just a little bit of the conversation. He heard enough to know that Mr. Cosmo wanted something with Rudy. To recruit him for something. His heart froze when he realized that Mr. Cosmo wanted to corrupt Rudy, to make him just like him. Knowing that Rudy was ChalkZone’s main protector, he couldn’t allow that to happen. He didn’t want to think of what would have happened...had he been too late...

“I will beat the information out of you...” Mr. Wilter said in a threatening voice.

This prompted a smile from Mr. Cosmo. “You’re...in no position...t-to do th-that...”

Suddenly, Cosmo grabbed his arm and yanked him off of him. He stood over Mr. Wilter and stepped onto his chest, pinning him on the ground. Mr. Wilter struggled to get the foot off of him. But Cosmo being heavier as well as stronger than him made that impossible. And he couldn’t call Tsere for help while he was dealing with Draow. He glared up at Mr. Cosmo.

“Perhaps I had been wrong about you. Maybe you weren’t as dangerous as I thought.” Mr. Cosmo grinned. “If I had known you wouldn’t put up as much of a fight than I thought, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time reminding myself of the kink you could put in my plans...”

“Don’t count me out yet.” Mr. Wilter said. With that, he swung his foot against Cosmo’s leg, causing him to fall down. Mr. Wilter got up. “I still have a lot of fight left in me!”

He grabbed Mr. Cosmo by his shirt collar and threw him against the wall. This prompted a grunt of pain from Cosmo and he hunched over slightly from the pain. Wilter then slammed his body against his, smashing him up against the tunnel’s wall. He hit Cosmo harder than he thought because the man had screamed.

When he moved back, Cosmo growled and pulled back a fist to punch him. Mr. Wilter managed to step nimbly out of the way. He struck back with his own fist. It made contact with Cosmo’s stomach, causing him to cry out in pain and hold his stomach. His knees buckled and he gritted his teeth tightly. He coughed up a bit of blood and stared up at Wilter hatefully.

“You...I will not lose to you again...”

He lunged at Mr. Wilter and knocked him into the ground. He grabbed his throat and started to choke him. Mr. Wilter’s eyes went wide and he started to struggle frantically. He managed to kick Mr. Cosmo off of him, but he wasn’t free for long. The man slung his arm around his neck and squeezed hard, putting him into a hold.

Wilter pulled and scratched at Cosmo’s arm. It was not doing him any good. The more he struggled, the harder Cosmo squeezed. Having a harder time breathing, Wilter stopped struggling, opting to hang onto Cosmo’s arm. He opened up one eye half way and glared over at Cosmo.

“I...I know about the b-black chalk...” Mr. Wilter said through what little breath he could take. “I know you plan on corrupting R-Rudy with it...”

“So you know that much do you? Congratulations, old ‘friend’...” Mr. Cosmo jeered. Wilter guessed that if he wasn’t holding onto him, he’d be giving him a mock clap. “Well, since you are not going to make it out of this alive..I will see to that...I suppose I will tell you a bit more of my plan...”

“How thoughtful of you...” Wilter growled.

“That boy is going to finish what I started. Since the day the black chalk gave me wisdom, I sought to make ChalkZone a place that benefited the creators in the greatest possible way. You stopped me from achieving that goal. But I see so much potential in Rudy Tabootie...he will make a fine apprentice, and he will help me achieve my goal.”

Mr. Wilter grunted in pain as Mr. Cosmo pushed him against the wall, putting his face close to his. “That boy will have no choice but to use the black chalk. He has been forced into it. He cannot remain connected to Skrawl for long...”

“Wh-Why not..?” Wilter asked.

“Well..let me just say, soon, there’ll be some negative repurcussions. What they are, I will leave up to your imaginaton...” Mr. Cosmo said. He smiled at Mr. Wilter’s widening eyes. “Even if he didn’t agree to join me, his connection with Skrawl will assure my victory. And once I have that boy at my side, I will take over ChalkZone and enslave all the zoners. They will become workers in the real world, where they will be harvested for labor, weaponry, what have you. It will be a glorious future...don’t you think...?”

Wilter couldn’t believe it. So that is what this madman had been up to. And to force Rudy into using the dreaded black chalk, which they both knew was irreversable once its corruption became complete, it was awful. And to use zoners as slaves...that was horrible. The zoners didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Though still a little bitter he was banished, he didn’t want them to suffer like that. He couldn’t allow this to happen.

He opened his mouth and bit down on Cosmo’s arm. This was enough to cause the evil man to loosen his grip on him. Wilter struggled free of his grasp. He gripped Cosmo by his collar and threw him aside. Cosmo stumbled, trying to keep his balance. He looked over and watched as Mr. Wilter came at him at incredible speed.

In a split second, Wilter’s fist punched against Cosmo’s face. He stumbled back against the wall. The fist made contact with his nose. Blood squirted out of his nostrils and he gave a pained cough. He looked over and his eyes widened in fear as Mr. Wilter lunged at him.

sss

Penny had no idea where they were going in this zigzag of a place. She wished Ms. Saffron were here. She’d be able to take them to where they wanted to go. She must know this place well enough to be able to navigate it. But Saffron couldn’t go with her and Tsere. She had to sneak back into the building and try to cripple Mr. Cosmo the best she could. It would only be temporary until Cosmo got it fixed eventually, but it would provide some cover for them.

She hoped that Saffron could keep the controlled zoners busy. She had them all report to the same room, clustered together. In one centralized location, they would be much easier to avoid. And with Cosmo too busy with Wilter, he wouldn’t realize anything was wrong until later on. She hoped that it would be enough to ensure their escape.

Rudy thought he realized there might be a way to find them. He mentioned how Wilter chose a tunnel based on color, and he assumed that all the areas were actually color coded if they looked at them right. Rudy vaguely remembered the color of the room he and Skrawl were trapped in, and he looked for that color. But finding the right shade of the color wasn’t going to be easy. She hoped that Rudy, being an artist, could more easily pick the colors apart.

At least they were on the upper level by now, putting more distance between them and Cosmo. They walked around for a while, taking chances, going down different hallways. She was in awe at how much Cosmo had put in this place, all likely just to disorient would-be intruders. She hoped that they were going the right way, or were close to where Skrawl is. They didn’t have time to get stuck in here.

Stuck...that made her mind go back to when Rudy trapped himself in the temple to stop the red bats from spreading their disease. She truly thought that was the last time she’d ever get to see Rudy. It was a heartbreaking moment for her, and she remembered the huge elation she felt when Rudy was able to get out of the temple after all.

Rudy suddenly smiled and turned over to Penny. “This is the right place!”

Penny strode up to him. “Are you sure, Rudy?”

“Yes. This is the same hallway Lars dragged me down. Skrawl’s cell should be down there.” Rudy said. He motioned with his head for Penny to follow him.

The trio headed down the hallway slowly. Even though Rudy was certain, Penny knew they still had to be careful. Even with the odds now shifting in their favor, something could still go very wrong. She had seen enough of Cosmo to know that he could still pull another trick out of his sleeve. For Snap’s sake, they had to be careful.

She stared at Snap as he rested on Rudy’s back. He had calmed down a little since discovering he couldn't feel his feet. But he was clearly still shaken up and rightfully so. He only calmed down because they had both been there for him and soothed him. He eventually stopped crying and went quiet. He hung onto Rudy a little tighter, pressing his head more firmly against him for comfort.

She was very worried about him. The seizure he had earlier was utterly frightening. She remembered how Rudy let out a panicked scream. They were lucky they didn’t get caught, but she understood why he did it. Snap had suddenly started thrashing. They thought it was because he was in pain at first, but when they saw he was actually having a seizure...that made it so much worse.

They quickly found cover and laid Snap on the ground. They couldn’t call out to him otherwise they risk drawing attention. They were forced to watch him, unable to do anything except stroke his head and cheek, or hold his hand and whisper comforting words to him. They both cried as Snap had the seizure, and then went completely still, catatonic. It was such a relief that he woke up.

But that relief soon turned into a nightmare when they both came to the horrible realization that the seizure might have cost Snap the use of his legs. Not being able to feel his legs at all was horrible. The only good thing that came out of that was not having to feel his severe foot burns. What was just as pressing was the fact he could barely move his legs now. They were becoming paralyzed.

That brought about a stronger sense of urgency in her and Rudy. They really needed to get to ChalkZone and fast. Losing the ability to walk...that was a horrible thing to happen to anyone. And since Snap would live a long time, he’d have to endure not being able to walk until he was killed. She felt tears fill her eyes as she thought about the long, hard road Snap would have in front of him if he had to adjust to life without being able to walk.

To add to her worry, there was that infection. She and Rudy both expressed concerns about it during their walk down these halls. If the infection spread too quickly, Snap would get sick and that would worsen his condition even further. His damaged body couldn’t afford getting sick. If that happened, the disease would do a lot more damage since his immune system was weakened from all the abuse Snap had to endure here.

She recalled what Rudy said about the vinegar, being used as a torture device on Snap to make him crack. She felt her lip quiver as she thought about how horrible that was for the both of them. Rudy must have been so scared and frightened. It must have been horrible having to see something like that done to his best friend. And Snap...poor little guy... She couldn’t imagine the amount of pain he was in, the terrible fear that must have gripped his heart, as Cosmo did all that to him.

She hoped that the man would get what’s coming for him. She didn’t care how long it takes. She just wanted karma to bite him back. And bite him back hard. And if she had to bring it to him, she would be glad to. And she knew Rudy would agree with her.

Suddenly she heard a low whimpering. It was growing louder and louder. She quickly realized it was coming from Snap. His body was starting to tremble and he was hugging Rudy tighter as if he was getting very cold. He started to moan.

Rudy looked at his friend worriedly. “Snap..? What’s wrong?”

Snap didn’t answer. He was moving his head around, like he was confused as to where he was. His eyes were only halfway open.

“Snap...please talk to us...” Penny begged. But like Rudy, she got no response from the blue zoner.

The two of them went over to another corner in the hallway and sat on the ground. Rudy gently held Snap sitting up, careful not to bend his legs in an odd angle. He kept Snap up by gripping his shoulders gently. He made sure that his back wasn’t pushed up against the wall, for fear he would irritate the injuries more.

Penny’s heart skipped a beat as she saw Snap sway his head back and forth, his body moving from side to side. He continued to shiver and groan. He looked up at Rudy and Penny, his eyes filled with fear as if he had no idea what was going on.

“What’s wrong? Please tell us...” Rudy begged, tears filling his eyes. “Snap..please...talk to us...say something...”

But Snap did not answer. To the teenagers’ horror, his eyes suddenly shot close and he became completely limp.

“Snap! No!” Rudy cried. He nudged Snap, trying to wake him. He wouldn’t respond. “No...”

Penny placed her hand on his forehead. She yanked her hand back. “He’s burning up!” She cried in horror. The infection must have spread. A fever was only going to worsen Snap’s already frail condition. She turned to Rudy. “We need to cool him down, and fast!”

“But how? We don’t have any chalk water with us, and real world water would kill him...” Rudy said, his voice filled with worry and sorrow.

Penny shook her head in denial as she slowly looked down at Snap. With him being so sick, they couldn’t risk going back for Skrawl...they had to get to ChalkZone and fast. Snap could burn up before they even get there if they continued on this detour. But if they didn’t get Skrawl, what if Cosmo used their connection against him? He could go as far as kill Rudy if he felt it was necessary...

She didn’t have long to dwell on her thoughts when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, her body tense. Could it be Cosmo? No..don’t let it be Cosmo..not know. The shadow on the wall came closer, clearly forming the image of a human. She bit her lip. She and Rudy moved close to Snap, shielding him from the person’s sight in case it really was Cosmo.

Much to their relief, it was only Ms. Saffron. She spotted the kids and her eyes flew open. She looked left and right before rushing over as fast as she could. Once she reached the teenagers, she knelt down, looking at them with great concern.

“What are you doing here? Why haven’t you left?” Saffron asked, her voice tense. “I don’t know how long Cosmo can be distracted. I don’t know how long Wilter can hold out against him.”

Rudy answered, his voice shaky, “W-We were going to g-get Skrawl so Cosmo couldn’t use him to s-stop me...”

Ms. Saffron nodded understandably. “I see....I had forgotten about that...I wouldn’t doubt Cosmo would do that if he found you had left back into ChalkZone.” She looked down and gasped. “What happened to him...?”

“I-Infection...it spread...he has a horrible fever and it caused him to faint...” Penny replied, tears blurring her vision. “A-And he can’t feel his legs...he had a s-seizure...”

“A seizure?” Ms. Saffron whispered in horror. “No...that’s not possible...unless Mr. Cosmo used that blasted device more than I thought...”

“What does this mean..?” Rudy asked her tearfully.

Ms. Saffron bit her lip. “It means he may have less time than I thought...” She brought out the medkit Penny drew earlier. She looked at Rudy. “You go on ahead and get Skrawl. Come back here as soon as you can. There are no controlled zoners down that way, so you shouldn’t run into any resistance.”

“B-But..Snap...” Rudy whispered, clearly not wanting to leave Snap’s side.

“We will take care of him. Don’t worry...” Saffron said in a comforting voice. “Right now, you need to get Skrawl out of there before Cosmo or one of his zoner servants get him. You won’t be of much help to your friend if you are incapacitated.”

“I...” Rudy sighed. “I understand...”

“Good.” Ms. Saffron said as she handed Penny the medkit. She carefully scooped Snap in her arms and steadied him. She gave a nod to Penny.

Penny opened up the medkit and got out a small bottle of chalk water that had been in there. She put some on a chalk cloth and squeezed it so that it wasn’t too damp. She placed it on Snap’s forehead. She watched as his eyes clenched tightly, his teeth bared. She listened to the whimpers and low cries coming from his mouth. He was having a nightmare...poor guy...

Though clearly not wanting to leave, Rudy started to walk down the hallway alone. Before he disappeared, Penny heard Saffron say something that she hadn’t thought she would hear from the woman.

“And...Rudy...?”

Stopping in his tracks, Rudy looked behind at Ms. Saffron.

“About what I said at your parents’ house, about you being a...juvenile delinquent..” Saffron winced as she said that. “I’m...so sorry... I shouldn’t have said it.”

Rudy stared at her in shock. Slowly, a weak smile came onto his face. It didn’t stay there long. Worry plastered over his face once more as he turned and walked away, heading down the hallways alone.


	32. Change In Attitude

Rudy couldn’t understand how so many wrong things happened recently. Just a few days ago, there hadn’t been anything wrong. They were going about their days as usual. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He would visit ChalkZone whenever he could, and so would Penny. They would have fun there, especially with Snap. Only once in a while did he have to do with one that meant ill will, such as Skrawl or any number of not-so-friendly zoners. And sometimes other humans, though those occurred even less.

Now, not so long later, everything had fallen apart. He had made a new enemy in Mr. Cosmo, who was intent on corrupting him and everything he stood for. Snap went missing and when he finally saw him again, he was all banged up and being used as a ‘bargaining coin’. Many zoners had disappeared and were being used as slaves here. He was connected to Skrawl, which could easily be used against him. ChalkZone was in danger of being exposed and exploited to an even worse degree than Vinnie and Terry had ever intended. A part of him was certain that even they would be disgusted by how far Mr. Cosmo was willing to take things.

Things kept getting worse even after Mr. Wilter rescued him and Snap. Although Snap could no longer be controlled, his physical condition was deteriorating fast. He almost completely loss the use of his legs, which was a frightening thing for him to think about. Losing the ability to walk was a heavy emotional blow to anyone. It would take a long time for Snap to cope with the change, if it became permanent. He was certain that Penny was right and it had been the seizure that ultimately caused Snap to lose almost all control of his legs. It might not have happened right away, but some point after, they were both certain the seizure caused enough damage to numb the legs and weaken any movement.

And it wasn’t just Snap’s legs that he had to worry about. His unresponsiveness was a huge concern for him. He could still just be too tired to reply, but that didn’t seem likely. In the amount of pain he was in, especially from his back which was the most infected, being an older wound, it would be very hard to sleep. He wondered if Snap was just pretending not to feel as much pain as he let on. Rudy bit his lip. If this were the case, and if he hadn’t been sleeping, then...why had he gone into periods of just...doing nothing?

What chilled him to his blood was the fact that his unresponsive states were quite similar to when he had gone catatonic from a seizure. His eyes would still be open most of the time. He’d just lay still. He’d even drool a little once in a while. The only thing different from the catatonic state was, during his unresponsive states, he’d sometimes whimper and tremble. Regardless, the similarity otherwise had him very worried.

And now Snap was suffering from a fever, brought on by the infection he had. His back injury was never treated properly, and neither was the cuts on his hand. With how dirty his cell had been, he wouldn’t doubt that germs had invaded the cut. It didn’t matter that Snap was made of chalk. Germs were highly adaptable and would likely have found a way to ‘make use’ of Snap’s chalky cells.

Him getting sick was proof of that. He and Penny had been so shocked when he just passed out like that. For a second time, too. He was only glad that it wasn’t another seizure. That would have been more frightening. But passing out at all was not normal and a sign that something just wasn’t right. He felt so helpless as Snap laid on the ground, breathing raggedly from the high temperature his body was experiencing.

He had been surprised to see Ms. Saffron. He didn’t think she would be there at that time. He didn’t know what she was doing. Perhaps looking for them? Or locating another room to sabotage?

Either way, it had been a good thing she had showed up. He couldn’t understand why Penny left the medkit with Saffron, but he was glad that Saffron still had it. The cold chalky water would help bring down Snap’s fever, or at least help keep his brain from being burned. His head must have been burning hot to the touch. Penny actually pulled her hand away like she had touched a heated stove pot. If Snap’s temperature was really that high.... Rudy knew fully well just how lethal high temperatures could be.

Rudy tried his best not to cry. He told himself that Snap was going to be okay. Penny and Saffron would keep him safe. They would treat his fever, and hopefully break it before he got back. And when he would come back, Snap would be awake again.

At least, that is what he wished. Reality was not always so kind. For all he knew, Snap could be far worse when he came back...

He shook his head. He had to remain positive. He couldn’t give up. He couldn’t give in to his worst thoughts. They were taking Snap to a hospital soon. They would make it in time. He would be okay. He just had to be okay. He couldn’t allow himself to give into despair. He had to keep believing that they would get him help in time.

Snap was a fighter. He wouldn’t let this get to him that easily. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Even in a battered, shaken state, he knew Snap wouldn’t want to completely succumb to this. He would do what he could to fight to stay alive. And if Snap was not giving up, neither should he.

Rudy’s thoughts shifted to Ms. Saffron. He remembered what she said before he reluctantly left Snap and Penny behind to get Skrawl. He had to admit, he was not expecting Saffron to apologize for what she said. The words still stung him. But it was nice to know that she did feel regret for it. It wasn’t going to undo the pain it caused him, but he did feel better regarding that.

She was turning out to be not so bad a person. At first, she had just been one of the enemies, even though she did much less than Cosmo did. He didn’t doubt she had a hand in kidnapping Snap in the first place. When Cosmo mentioned she was being nice to Snap, he was grateful. It was nice to know there was at least one person in this place that was kind to Snap, even if it was just a little.

With a shudder, he remembered something Mr. Cosmo said. Something that he wished he had told Ms. Saffron before he had left. Mr. Cosmo mentioned something about...getting rid of her... His eyes widened at the realization. Why hadn’t he told her? He had the chance....

He tried to calm himself down. There was still time. He would just grab Skrawl and come back. Then he would tell Saffron then.

Speaking of Skrawl, he was getting very close to where he was being kept. It was just a little further down. Despite Saffron keeping the controlled zoners elsewhere, he was still very cautious. Mr. Cosmo could have some tricks left to play, and there might be a nasty surprise waiting for him. He was surprised he hadn’t encountered any traps, but he guessed that Saffron had messed with the whole system. This didn’t surprise him too much. Mr. Cosmo was a bit tangled up with Mr. Wilter right now.

He wondered how his teacher was holding up against him. He did see a flicker in Cosmo’s eyes when he saw Wilter. That did give him some hope that Wilter stood a chance against him. Never once had he ever seen Cosmo display fear. For Mr. Wilter to cause such a reaction, that had to mean something, right?

Tsere was going to be a big help too. He was a little larger than Draow in size, and he looked like he could hold his own against him. Draow was such a vicious beast, so not having to deal with him helped as well. He hoped that Tsere could keep this up against Draow and keep him busy. If he were to get knocked away, Draow could go after Wilter, and turn the odds in favor of Cosmo...

Rudy located the room that contained Skrawl’s cell. He looked around cautiously, making sure there was absolutely no one here. He tested the door knob. It was unlocked. Slowly, he turned the door and swung it open. He walked inside.

He found Skrawl leaning against the pillar, his arms folded and eyes closed. Remembering their connection, he looked at his arm. There were some clear nicks in his chalk outline of an arm and he saw a bit of red. He wondered at first why he hadn’t tried to treat his arm, then he realized that he couldn’t when he was locked up.

Rudy walked up to the electrified water bars. He put his hand on one of the pillars, careful to avoid the sparking watery death lines. “Hey Skrawl? Wake up!”

Skrawl grumbled and opened up his red eye. “Master Tabootie?” He said, confused. His blue eye now opened up. “I didn’t think you would come back for me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Rudy asked.

“Because you and I are enemies.” Skrawl said. “And it was...because of me all this had happened.”

Rudy blinked at this. Had Skrawl confessed that, if he hadn’t gone after the wolf bat beast, none of this would have happened? He wondered if he had heard him wrong. Skrawl was never the type to say something like that if it wasn’t part of his goal. He would have tried to shift the blame on someone else. For him to just admit it like that...it didn’t sound like Skrawl at all.

He didn’t have time to dwell on that. He knew they had to get out of there, and fast. Time was running out for Snap, and, if he didn’t hurry, not only did he risk letting Snap suffer permanent damage, but other citizens of ChalkZone would suffer horrible fates themselves.

“Of course I would come back for you, Skrawl. You might cause me a lot of grief, but I can’t let you or anyone else be used any more by Cosmo. If I left you here...I’d be just as bad as him...” Rudy said. He looked around the room. “Where is the switch?”

Skrawl got up from the ground and walked over. He pointed towards a corner. “I think I saw something over there.”

Rudy was surprised at how fast Skrawl had mentioned this. It was like he wanted him to help. Again, this didn’t sound like Skrawl. He normally would have resisted, and would only accept help with a bitter tone. He wasn’t sure how to take it, other than Skrawl was so eager to leave, he was willing to work with him right away.

“Thanks.” Rudy said.

Rudy made his way to the corner where Skrawl had pointed him to. He saw a little machine in the corner, blending in so well he would have easily missed it had it not been for Skrawl’s directions. There were a couple buttons on it and a lever. No words were placed on it, and that had him worried. What if he pressed the wrong button?

He tried to pull the lever. He heard a scream behind him. He looked over and his eyes widened as additional water bars began to form, connecting from one side to the other. Skrawl was pressing himself against a pillar, trying to get away from the approaching electric water bar.

“Turn it back!” Skrawl cried. “Turn it back now!”

Rudy quickly turned the lever back. In an instant, the encroaching electrical water bars vanished, returning the cage to how it was before. He heard Skrawl sigh with relief. If the bars had touched Skrawl...he himself would have felt every bit of damage.

“Sorry about that.” Rudy apologize.

Skrawl growled softly. “Next time, don’t try to turn me into swiss cheese, artist boy.”

Now there’s the Skrawl he knew.

Rudy turned back to the controls. The lever wasn’t what he wanted. He looked at the buttons. They looked like they were all the same color. A dull brown. Without labels, how was Cosmo able to tell which one was which?

Then he remembered the halls, how he was able to find this place at all. Color coded... Mr. Cosmo did use color coding, but it was subtle so that intruders would have a hard time picking it out. To an non-artist, all these colors were the same. But to an artist himself, he could tell them apart more easily. It was still a tad difficult, but, through concentration, he could tell the colors apart.

He found two buttons right next to each other. With such dull variances, he guessed that Mr. Cosmo would keep the on and off buttons next to each other. He wondered if Cosmo followed the red is off, green is on analogy, to help himself remember which button was which in case he got them mixed up. It was a possibility.

And if that was the case, and one of these was a representation of red, and another green, which one would it be...?

He thought hard about this. He couldn’t dwell much on deciding which one was the right button, he knew. He didn’t have the time for this. He continued to stare at the buttons. He knew that deciding which one was right was a huge risk. What if he accidentally washes away Skrawl? If he did that, not only would he consider himself a monster like Cosmo, he would die as a result too...

Then he remembered something regarding art. He had used some art programs before. He didn’t use them much. He was more of a traditional artist. But he did recall using the grayscale option before. If he remembered right, grayscale green was darker than grayscale red. And if that principal applied here...

Rudy looked at the two buttons. Through concentration, he found which one was the lighter one. He put his finger against it. His heart started to race, knowing the consequence of pushing the wrong one. He turned away, closed his eyes, and pressed the button, expecting the worst.

Instead, he heard a familiar sound. The same sound he heard when Mr. Cosmo went into Snap’s cell to fetch him. Only this time, the sound was comforting and welcoming. He looked over and smiled when he saw that Skrawl’s cell had been shut down, the water completely vanishing save for some drops forming a line where the bars used to be.

Skrawl walked over to Rudy, careful not to step into the water. He stopped a few feet away from the boy. He stared at him, his eyes narrowed. But oddly, he didn’t look angry. Instead, he looked...confused. Like he wasn’t sure how to act around him anymore, or he was deep in thought, or something.

Finally, Skrawl spoke, “So...what’s the plan..?”

It sounded a little forced. Skrawl looked a bit awkard saying that. It was clear he wasn’t used to being this docile towards him. After years of threatening to destroy him, it came to no surprise to Rudy. It must hurt Skrawl to have to be a little nicer towards him, given the situation. He was glad that Skrawl acted like he was willing to cooperate, even if he had to force himself to.

“We have to go back and get Snap, Penny, and Ms. Saffron.” Rudy said as he and Skrawl headed towards the exit. Skrawl looked at him, confused. “And after that, we’re heading back into ChalkZone. You can leave then if you want, go back to your lair.”

“But...isn’t Ms. Saffron that woman who works with Mr. Cosmo? Why would you want her to come with?” Skrawl asked.

“She changed sides.” Rudy said. “Mr. Cosmo betrayed her. So she returned the favor.”

“I see...” Skrawl said slowly. His eyes narrowed in contemplation. “I know a thing or two about betrayal.”

“Yeah...I know.” Rudy said, somewhat bitterly. He remembered how Skrawl turned his back on his word when he had only tried to help him.

Skrawl flinched a little. “I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Rudy was confused by that expression. Skrawl was acting strangely. He didn’t understand why. Just before he was taken to Mr. Cosmo, Skrawl had been acting like his usual, typical self. But, not even a day later, when he finds him, he’s...not himself. What could have happened that caused this change in attitude? The wound on his arm? No, that wouldn’t seem like Skrawl to change over that.

As they walked down the hallway together, he thought about what he had said to Skrawl earlier. The last thing he tried to talk to him about was...what if they could have been friends if circumstances had been different... But that couldn’t have been it, right? Skrawl had been so adamant about still hating him even if his drawing turned out the way he wanted it to.

But then, what else could it have been? That was the last thing he said to Skrawl before he was dragged off. And Skrawl had been alone all this time, except maybe for a controlled zoner or two. He couldn’t pull off any schemes. He had nowhere to go. He would have had a lot of time to think about what he had said.

It didn’t seem possible, but Rudy had to consider the possibility that maybe..just maybe..he finally got through to Skrawl.

sss

Mr. Wilter managed to dodge another punch thrown at him from Mr. Cosmo. He tried to kick back, but he missed, and nearly lost his balance. He quickly straightened himself up and held up his fists as Mr. Cosmo came at him.

While he was dealing with Mr. Cosmo, Tsere was struggling against Draow. The battle had started to shift a little and Draow was fighting back. He pushed against Tsere and pinned him against the wall. He started to cut into the pterosaur’s body with his claws. Tsere let out a horrible screech of pain. He managed to kick Draow off of him, slamming the winged wolf into the ground.

In a second, Tsere was on the beast, squawking like an angry bird as he started to scratch into Draow’s body with his short but sharp talons. Although Draow let out a few whines, he was not backing down. He struggled to his feet and leapt for Tsere, his jaws gnashing at his throat. Tsere managed to move back and swung a mighty wing against the winged wolf. Draow tumbled across the ground. He shook his head, got up, and ran back towards Tsere.

Mr. Wilter knew that Tsere could only keep this up for so long. Draow was tenacious and wouldn’t back down easily. He was created with a somewhat similar personaly as Mr. Cosmo. He shared some of that evil man’s traits, and one of them was determination. Draow was not going to give up so easily, and could quickly turn the battle to his favor and drive back Tsere.

He continued to fight against Mr. Cosmo, holding his ground quite well. Despite being older and a tad bit out of practice, he was doing better than even he thought possible. Mr. Cosmo had the advantage of being a little younger than him, so he still had a bit of youth on his side. But Mr. Wilter had something going for him and that was he had a little more experience in fighting than Cosmo, which was how he managed to hold his own against him.

Mr. Cosmo grabbed Wilter by the arm and threw him against the wall. Before Wilter could recover, he punched Wilter in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He then raised a leg and swung it at him. But Mr. Wilter recovered in time and grabbed his leg. He yanked it hard, knocking Mr. Cosmo into the ground.

Mr. Wilter raised a foot and stomped hard on Mr. Cosmo’s chest. His left him breathless, his eyes widened in pain. A bit of blood was coughed out of his mouth. Cosmo let out a groan of pain as he struggled to get back up to his feet. He glared hatefully at Mr. Wilter and kicked him in the side.

Mr. Wilter winced, holding his side. He wasn’t about to allow Mr. Cosmo to get the upperhand. He managed to move out of the way as Cosmo lunged for him. Mr. Cosmo turned around to try again, but before he could react, Mr. Wilter kicked him in the shin with as much force as he could muster.

With a scream of pain, Mr. Cosmo was on the ground. He held his injured leg to himself. He clenched his teeth and seethed in pain. He slowly looked up as he heard the crackle of knuckles. He saw Mr. Wilter heading straight for him, eyes narrowed. An uncharacteristic look of fear plastered over Mr. Cosmo’s face as he realized he was going to lose this fight.

Just then, a voice sounded out, one that sent chills down Mr. Wilter’s spine.

“All systems back online.” A computerized voice announced.

Slowly, Mr. Cosmo’s fearful look turned into a triumphant one. “So my backup generators finally kicked in, I see...”

Mr. Wilter looked down at Mr. Cosmo. “Backup generators? What are you talking about? This place doesn’t have any...”

“Yes, true my newstation is...out of the times without a backup generator...” Mr. Cosmo said with an eerie smile. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know the use of them. A lot of the machines in here are just to keep this place running. And they were well guarded too. No one but me is allowed near them. Even Ms. Saffron can’t access them.”

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened as he realized what he was talking about. The stalling with the security system...they had less than he thought...

“Even if the main systems were destroyed, these machines, which suppy back up power to various parts of my base, would eventually kick in when they detect that no signals were being sent.” Mr. Cosmo explained. “My controlled zoners will be returning to their posts, and when they find that Rudy and company got out of their cells...they will ensure they never leave...” He grinned evilly.

Mr. Wilter was shocked. He realized he couldn’t stay there. He had to leave. He had to go back to Rudy and the others and get them out before the controlled zoners could find them. Glaring down at Cosmo, he gave him one last punch, watching as the man cried out in pain and fell onto his side.

Mr. Wilter ran over to Tsere and climbed onto his back. “Come on, Tsere! We have to get going! Forget about Draow!”

Tsere started to fly away, barely fitting in the tunnel’s passageways. Behind him, Draow was running behind him, flapping his wings and trying to bite at him. He only stopped when Mr. Cosmo called out to him.

“No! Let them go!” Mr. Cosmo said. He held his cheek where he had been punched. He slowly climbed up to his feet. “We’ll take care of them later.”

As he took a step forward, he had a noticeable limp. There was a pained look on his face, but he was clearly ignoring the pain as he kept walking. Draow kept close behind him, his head lowered as if prepared to catch his master if he were to fall down.

“We have something we must take care of first...”


	33. No Longer Of Use

Ms. Saffron stared down at Snap’s limp form with concern etched on her face. She had no idea just how cruel Mr. Cosmo could really be. He had done a lot more harm to Snap in the short time he been alone with him than she realized. He had been just fine when he was in the isolation room, where she was able to converse with him. Even if it wasn’t the cleanest, it was still better than what he got afterwards.

She knew that was the biggest reason for his move. This is what Mr. Cosmo had intended all along. He wanted to break the poor boy’s spirit so he would be an absolute wreck when Rudy saw him. Emotion was a powerful thing, and at times emotional wounds run deeper than physical ones. Even if Snap recovered from his physical wounds, his personality must have suffered a heavy blow. She couldn’t help but feel her stomach tie in knots as she realized she had helped make this possible.

She had no idea how she fell for Cosmo’s lie about just wanting to explore ChalkZone. Up until recently, she thought that was all his plan had entailed. She did question some of the methods that he used, but he had promised he would do no real harm. Why had she believed him? She should have realized that he had been lying to her since day one of this project.

She regretted she didn’t act sooner. As soon as she had doubts, she should have trusted her instincts. She should have looked into this plan of his more deeply. If she had, she could have found out the truth, and what he really had planned. She could have warned Rudy...

Well she did warn him initially at his house. Something about Cosmo’s plan back then didn’t feel right, and she felt like she had to warn him. But Mr. Cosmo put her fears to rest...for a time. And now she wished that she had remained suspicious of him the entire time. She had never wanted anything like this to happen. And now, because of her inaction, she had put a couple of kids in danger. She felt horrible.

And Snap...she felt so bad for the little guy. He had seemed to be a pretty friendly guy. He didn’t come off as dangerous in any shape or form. She had no idea, for a time, how to think of the chalk entities, but she did come to understand how real they were, thanks to Snap. This made her even angrier at Mr. Cosmo for how he had been treating them. Had she known that the chalk creatures were truly sentient, she would have left Mr. Cosmo a long time ago.

She felt like a fool. She had been so grateful to Cosmo for helping her out with her career, for taking her in. But maybe Snap had been right all along. Maybe she was just being used. Maybe he just wanted a crony to do some of the dirty work for him. Maybe, in the end, he was going to dump all the blame on her, or whatever else he could come up with. He had never cared about her, or anyone else. And she had been played for a sap.

Snap was laying in Penny’s arms. The girl had the wet cloth against his head. The blue boy’s eyes were shut tightly and he let out a few whimpers. She didn’t expect the fever to break anytime soon. The cloth would still help at least. She had managed to pop a pill into the guy’s mouth and got him to swallow it. But she wasn’t sure how long it would take to take effect and if it would be enough. It might make him a little stronger. It wouldn’t save him, but a little stronger was better than nothing.

She hoped Rudy would return with Skrawl soon. They couldn’t stay in the hallways for very long. Mr. Cosmo could have found a backup plan. Even though she worked alongside him, it seemed that he was keeping this sadistic side away from her for all these years, and now she isn’t sure just how much she knows about him. She had a feeling he would find a way to get at them soon, though. That much she was certain. But exactly how or when, she couldn’t tell.

As soon as they would arrive, she’d take them down to the nearest chalkboard. But sadly, the nearest one from here was on the upper level. And that would take some time to get to. After they would go into ChalkZone, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She had thought about going with them, but she didn’t think she could be of much help. She could stay and offer a distraction, but she already did enough damage to the systems. It should be enough to stall Cosmo long enough to get Snap to a hospital and for Rudy to severe his connection with Skrawl.

After the nightmare was over, she planned on apologizing to Snap. She wanted to now, but he was unconscious still, and even if he were awake, with the damage he sustained, he may not fully understand why she was apologizing. She felt horrible for keeping him in the dark on what Cosmo wanted, and she wanted to say she was sorry. She hoped he would be able to forgive her. She had never meant to betray him like that.

“Ms. Saffron...” Penny’s voice broke the silence.

Ms. Saffron turned her head. “Yes?”

“What made you finally turn against Mr. Cosmo?” Penny asked. “What made you decide to help us instead of him?”

Ms. Saffron paused for a moment. “It was...a couple of things.” She looked down at Snap. “When I saw him yank Snap up by his scarf, hurting him deliberately, I saw just how cruel he could be. I never knew he was like that. To bring more harm to someone with an injury like your friend had, that was just sadistic...”

“His back injury...?” Penny whispered.

Ms. Saffron nodded. “Draow gave that to him. Sliced up his back real good. It was treated, but barely. Mr. Cosmo didn’t care about properly cleaning the wound or anything. He just wanted Snap alive for the time being. And when he grabbed him and shook him like how he had, dragging him, not caring if he hit against the walls...I’m sure it made the injury worse.” She closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. “It was a horrible sight.”

Penny looked at Saffron in horror. “He did that to Snap..?”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. “I’m afraid so.” She looked at the ground. “Then he locked me up in the room. He guessed I was going to try to mess up his plans. And...he was right. After seeing that, I would have done something.” She looked back at Penny. “I am certain he put Snap in a new place where only he could interact with him, because he wanted to do all he could to crush him. He wanted your friend Rudy to be in such a state of shock when he would see Snap again, that he’d be more easily manipulated...”

Something seemed to click in Penny’s head. “So that visit to his parents’ house...”

“Was all part of the test.” Ms. Saffron said. “He wanted to see how easily...manipulated your friend could be, so he had me call him a juvenile delinquent and tell him the results. He was...pleased that he reacted the way he had. He said that if Rudy would react that way, it meant two things. One, that he really was hiding something and two, and this is the biggest thing, it meant that, if he reacted so negatively to a single phrase, how would he react when something more important, such as a dear friend, is hurt?”

“...oh...oh my...” Penny whispered, her eyes widened. It was clear, from the look on her face, that everything was starting to click together, even more than it already did.

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slightly. “I hated calling him that, but Mr. Cosmo forced me into it. And I’m not great at lying to him. He isn’t as easily tricked as...the rest of us unfortunately. I do hold deep regret that I was involved in this at all. Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if I never been involved with that man.”

Penny shook her head. “Not much different. He would have found a way to do all this without your help.”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. “Yeah, he would have. Especially since most of my help was from the sidelines. He did most of the work.”

“And besides, I don’t think you should feel too bad, Ms. Saffron.” Penny said.

This surprised the woman. How could the girl say that? If she had done something sooner, she could have prevented at least some of what happened. If she hadn’t been a fool and listened to Mr. Cosmo, and warned Rudy and Penny, they could have been more prepared, and could have more easily dealt with Cosmo.

There was a lot she could have, and should have, done. She didn’t do as much as Mr. Cosmo, but that was just it. She didn’t do much. And what she didn’t do, it nagged her in the mind. She couldn’t shake off the guilty feeling. Even knowing that all of this would have happened anyway, she still felt like she could have made a big difference if she had done something earlier.

“You didn’t mean for this to happen. And you aren’t the only person in the world who has ever been duped by someone. It could happen to anyone. Don’t beat yourself up for it.” Penny said. “You’ve learned your lesson and you’re trying to make up for it. That’s what matters. Accepting your mistakes and fixing them. You did manage to help us in the end and it made a big difference.”

Ms. Saffron blinked a few times. Then, slowly, she smiled. She started to feel a little better. The girl was right. She shouldn’t kick herself for the mistakes she made. She should focus on fixing them. And that was exactly what she was doing. She knew that she couldn’t rest until Mr. Cosmo paid for his evil deeds and was locked up in jail where he belonged.

“Thank you...” Ms. Saffron said gratefully.

Penny smiled back, but only briefly. Her gaze fell back onto Snap. He was still shivering from the fever and he hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. Ms. Saffron looked at him sympathetically. He was going through so much... He shouldn’t have to endure this.

Ms. Saffron wanted to give Penny a sense of hope, though. In times like this, it was always good to keep a positive state of mind. It helped making dealing with the situations a little easier.

“I’m sure he will be okay. It will take him time to recover, but from what I’ve seen in Rudy, he’ll get him to the hospital in time.” Ms. Saffron said, trying to comfort Penny. “Then you guys can do...whatever it is you usually do when someone like...Mr. Cosmo...isn’t causing you trouble.”

A tear formed in Penny’s eyes. “Everything had been so normal a few days ago...I just couldn’t believe that...all this happened so fast...”

Ms. Saffron looked at her sadly. “It is sad that you and your friends have to deal with all this. I promise you that Mr. Cosmo will get what he deserves in the end, and everything will go back to the way it was. Rest assured, he will not get away with what he has done.”

Penny smiled. Now it was her turn to be grateful. “Thank you.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded out. A robotic voice who delivered a message that sent chills down her spine.

“All systems back online.”

Saffron’s eyes widened at that. How did...how was this possible? She had disabled the system. It should have remained down for a lot longer than this. The only way he could have pulled this off was with backup generators, but she didn’t see any. Did he hide them that well from her? Had he known all along she was going to betray him?

She looked down at Penny. Understandably the girl looked frightened. She couldn’t blame her. They were nowhere near the portal yet. And with Mr. Cosmo knowing where they are now, he could find a way to cut them off and beat them to their destination. He may be sending controlled zoners to their location now.

“I...I thought you...” Penny looked up at Ms. Saffron with wide eyes.

“I did.” Ms. Saffron said, gritting her teeth. “The bastard must have hidden some alternative power... And activated it somehow.”

They heard footsteps down the hall. Saffron had hoped it was just Rudy and Skrawl, but that was too much sound for two people. There were so many footfalls, it could only be a group of zoners coming their way. She looked left and right, trying to pinpoint which way the sound was coming from. To their right, she could see some shadows forming on the wall.

She reached down and grabbed Penny’s arm and tugged gently. “Come on, get up. We can’t stay here.” She said in a low voice. She didn’t want the zoners to hear her and give away their position. “Pick up your friend and be quiet. Come with me.”

“What about Rudy and...” Penny started to say.

“We’ll run into them on the way.” Ms. Saffron said softly. “Now come on, let’s go before one of them sees us.”

Saffron led Penny, who was gently holding Snap, down the hallway. She knew this way. It should cut right into the path that Rudy took to go get Skrawl. She hoped that he fetched the zoner and was heading down the hallway right now. She would meet up with them and they could take another path to hopefully avoid the controlled zoners.

It didn’t take them long to reach the hallway that Rudy had taken. They stepped into it. She looked around. It seemed empty enough. She turned and went in the direction that Rudy and Skrawl should be heading down if they had gotten out of the room by now.

She winced as she suddenly heard a loud screech echoing in the halls. It had to be Draow. That meant that Cosmo was on his way, probably to look at the monitor systems to try to activate some traps. They had to hurry and get out of there and fast. Saffron moved faster down the halls, her mind filling with urgency. She looked behind her to make sure Penny was able to keep up. She didn’t move too fast as she didn’t want Snap to fall and get more hurt than he already was.

Ms. Saffron was happy to see Rudy and Skrawl a bit further down. She quickened her pace to go up to them. As long as no controlled zoners appeared in this hallway, they could make a clean getaway and force Mr. Cosmo to go into ChalkZone, where Rudy would be able to fight back.

As they moved a foot further down, and when she could see Rudy’s face with greater detail, footsteps caught her attention. Oh no..it couldn’t be... Ms. Saffron froze in her tracks and looked behind her. Shadows forming on the walls of a nearby side tunnel. About three controlled zoners it looked like. And they were coming this way at an alarming rate.

She stared at the shadows, her mind racing. There was no way they could make it down the halls without the zoners seeing them. And they could be some of the faster zoners that would catch the kids very easily. Or they could find someway to force them to go down into the wrong hallway and get trapped. This was definitely not good. She had to think of something, and fast.

“Ms. Saffron!” Rudy called out. “I have to tell you something!”

She could barely hear the boy’s cries as she was lost in thought. But the zoners sure heard it. Rudy obviously couldn’t tell zoners were in the hall. He was at such an angle that he couldn’t see the shadows from the tunnel. The zoners in the hall quickened their pace and Ms. Saffron could make out their shapes. A block, a bear, and what looked like a bathtub with a person in it. They would be here very quickly.

Penny took notice of the zoners. She hung onto Snap tighter, like she was afraid he’d be taken away if the zoners spotted her. “What are we going to do...?”

Ms. Saffron had to think of something. What could she do? They couldn’t run now. The zoners would run after them, surely. She could hear Rudy yelling at her, trying to tell her something important. But she couldn’t think about that now. The teenagers had to get out of here, along with Snap and Skrawl, before it was too late.

What she needed to do was find some way to get the zoners to go in another direction. But without control of them, the only way was if...

...was if she was the distraction....

She narrowed her eyes. It was the only thing she could think of doing that may buy them enough time. She stared down at Penny and put a hand on her shoulder. “Go to Rudy and tell him to run down this hallway, all the way to the end, and make a right. There should be a staircase there. Take it and it will lead you back up to the floor above this one. The room with the chalkboard I presume you used to get here should be up there.”

Penny’s eyes widened. “But..what about you...?”

“Just do what I tell you!” Ms Saffron said firmly. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“But...” Penny protested.

“No buts. Go!” Saffron ordered, gently ushering Penny to ahead to Rudy.

Ms. Saffron turned around and stared down the hallway with the controlled zoners. She knew this was crazy. She knew that it might be the biggest mistake she’ll ever mistake in her life. But she was willing to do it to make up for what she helped cause to Rudy and his friends.

Without hesitation, she raced down the hallway. It didn’t take her long to meet up with the zoners that were coming down the hall. Bathtub Granny, Lars, and Blocky. They were walking in a neat line, blocking anyway to get past them. Saffron didn’t stop running and slammed into Blocky, knocking him down.

Just like she predicted, Blocky turned his attention on her. He tried to grab at her with his hands, but they were too short and stubby to be of much use. Saffron managed to dodge Bathtub Granny’s brush as it was swung at her like a weapon. Lars tried to swipe at her. She ducked and pushed against him, knocking him back a little.

Now that she had their attention, she ran down the hall. Like she hoped, they followed her in hot pursuit. She continued to lead them as far away from Rudy and the others as she possibly could.

sss

Rudy couldn’t believe it. Saffron hadn’t bothered to respond to him before she ran off. Why had she done that? He had an important message to give her. It was urgent she recieved the message. When he saw her quicken her pace, he broke into a run. This seemed to take Skrawl by surprise, but he didn’t pay any attention. He had to warn Saffron before it was too late.

He saw Penny rush up towards him, holding Snap in her arms. He slowed down as they met in the middle of the hallway. Penny looked distressed about something, like she knew something that he did not. He wondered if it had anything to do with Ms. Saffron going down that side tunnel.

“Penny..where did...” Rudy started to say.

“There’s some...controlled zoners...” Penny said. “She is going to distract them for us.”

Rudy’s eyes widened in shock. He had to get to her. She couldn’t fight the zoners all by herself. She was greatly outnumbered. He started to head in that direction when Skrawl grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

“If she is providing a distraction, then it’s for a good reason.” Skrawl said. “We should get out of here while we still have a chance!”

“But I have to warn her about...” Rudy started to say.

“I’m not happy about it either, Rudy.” Penny said, cutting him off. “But..she’s right...we have to get out of here. She told us the way out. With her distracting the controlled zoners, that gives us an opening...”

“And besides, your friend looks like he’s in really bad shape.” Skrawl said as he looked down at Snap. “Saffron’s help would have been all in vain if you didn’t get him back to ChalkZone in time, wouldn’t it?”

Rudy knew they were both right. They couldn’t stay here. As much as he hated to do it, he had no choice but to leave the building with the others. He hoped Ms. Saffron would be okay by herself. She seemed like a capable woman. And she knew this building well. She could find a place to hide quite easily.

He stared down at Snap. He still looked so terribly ill. He tried to hold back his tears. The sight of his friend in such a weak state, it was more than he could bear. And they didn’t have a lot of time to save him. Just a few hours, maybe less if that fever isn’t taken care of and fast.

“Okay...let’s go.”

sss

Ms. Saffron realized too late that she had went in the wrong direction. The tunnel she had went down led her to another tunnel with five more controlled zoners. A couple of stick figures and a couple dinosaur-based ones. They took notice of her and joined in the chase.

She couldn’t fight them. She had no weapons to use, not to mention she didn’t want to hurt them. All she could do was run away from them. She didn’t know how long she could keep it up though. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, her lungs screaming for more oxygen. Though some of the zoners were slowing down, it was only a matter of time before one of the zoners with more stamina would catch up to her.

As she rounded a corner down a new tunnel, she screamed and skidded to a hault. There were two large zoners heading in her direction, a bear and a bird. She froze, unsure of what to do. She had zoners in front of her and behind her. She looked around, trying to find an exit.

Without much of a choice, she raced down towards the bear and bird. They prepared to grab her. She managed to dodge, but only barely. She grunted as the bear slashed her in the leg. The cuts weren’t too deep luckily. She did her best to ignore the pain as she raced down the hallway.

In a short amount of time, there was practically a horde of controlled zoners coming after her. A part of her was glad. As long as they were after her, Rudy and the others would be safe from them. But something else entered her mind. How was she going to deal with this situation? She couldn’t keep running forever. She would tire out eventually and she would then be caught.

Then she remembered something about a secret door that Mr. Cosmo showed her once. She forgot what the purpose of it was, but it was going to be useful right about now. She recalled it was somewhere down here. As she ran, she looked along the walls, looking for a sign of something else being there. She turned a corner, down to where she believed this hidden area was.

Then she saw it. A very faint line, barely noticeable, forming a round shape. It nearly blended in with the wall all around it. She looked behind her. The zoners were catching up. She could see their shadows on the walls as they drew closer.

She raced towards the wall. She pressed her fingers against it. She recalled it was very hard to open. She struggled with all her might to open it. Slowly, the door creaked quietly open. She jumped inside and shut it as quickly as she could.

The room was very dark, but from what she recalled, it was pretty spacious. Not a lot of stuff in it. Maybe some small objects on the ground. She wasn’t sure what purpose the room really served. She was certain Mr. Cosmo had a reason for it, and that reason could not be good.

She heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She waited and listened. They came closer and soon they walked right by the door. She sighed with relief as they continued down the hall, their footsteps getting softer and softer. They were far enough away from the others that they should be able to get to ChalkZone before the controlled zoners could get to them.

She tried to open the door, but for some reason it wouldn’t work. Oh great, was this room so unused that it got stuck? She wasn’t sure how likely that was, but it was the only thing she could think of. She pulled on it harder, trying to muster up as much strength as she could.

“Leaving so soon, Ms. Saffron...?” A cold voice said behind her. “But you’ve only just arrived...”

Chills went down her spine at that all too familiar voice. The hairs on her neck stood on end. She turned around, and as she did, the lights of the room were switched on. She flinched at the sudden brightness for a second, and then stared in shock as she saw Mr. Cosmo standing in the middle of the room.

He was sitting in a wooden chair, his fingers tapping together. He smiled coldly at the woman, like he was pleased that he had outsmarted her and somehow predicted she’d come here. She took notice that of the injuries he had. Some bruises and small cuts. She guessed he got them from Mr. Wilter. Her eyes widened. Had Mr. Wilter been defeated?

Ms. Saffron took a defensive stance. She didn’t know what Mr. Cosmo wanted with her. She wasn’t about to put her guard down around him. After all he had done, she knew she had to remain wary and alert around him.

“What do you want?” Ms. Saffron demanded.

“Oh only to ask you a question.” Mr. Cosmo said. He leaned back in his chair. “Why did you turn your back on me? I mean, I’ve done so much for you...I can’t understand why you would decide to leave me all dry...”

Ms. Saffron growled at him. Was he serious? Did he not understand why she would turn against him? No, he knew. He was fully aware of what he had done. He was just toying with her, messing with her mind. No matter what she said to him, he was not going to feel one ounce of remorse.

“I am tired of this horrid scheme of yours, Mr. Cosmo. I can’t believe I trusted you...I can’t believe I ever looked up to you!” Ms. Saffron said, her voice full of disgust. Just like she predicted, Mr. Cosmo just stared at her calmly. “I hate the way you treat these zoners, like they’re worth lower than dirt! And don’t bother trying to change my mind! I refuse to work with you any longer!”

Mr. Cosmo was quiet for a few moments. “I am...sorry to hear that. It is...a shame that the blue boy managed to sway you so much. I should have kept you two separated. If I had known...there’d be some complications...I would have taken care of them sooner...”

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes. “What you did to Snap was unforgiveable...” She said in a dangerous tone of voice.

“Come now, Saffron...” Cosmo drolled, the calm, cruel smile never leaving his face. “I wasn’t the only one who did him wrong.”

A pang ripped through Saffron’s heart.

“After all, you were the one who kept secrets from him... He did look a little hurt when he found out the truth...” Cosmo said in a thoughtful manner. He scratched his chin. “I wonder how he feels about you now...”

Ms. Saffron glared at the man. “I hate you...”

“And I you... I am glad we are being honest with each other.” Mr. Cosmo said. He got up out of the chair and started to advance towards Ms. Saffron. As he boxed her against the door, he pressed a hand against the door and cupped her chin gently. “I suppose you want to say you’re sorry, don’t you?”

“He deserves an apology.” Ms. Saffron snarled. “He has more humanity than you do.”

Mr. Cosmo let out a soft chuckle. He looked into her eyes and said, “Well...if you hate being here that much...don’t worry...”

Saffron looked at him with a confused look. The tone of his voice changed. There was some...intent behind it...but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

“I’m letting you go...”

Suddenly Cosmo grabbed her by the neck and shoved her against the door hard. She let out a scream. She started to struggle as Cosmo placed a cold, sharp knife against her throat. She looked at the blade with wide eyes, able to see them in the reflection. Her heart pounded as she looked at Mr. Cosmo in fear.

“And don’t worry...I’ll make sure I give Snap the message...”

“N-N-No...please don’t do this...” Ms. Saffron begged, tears strolling down her face. She struggled to get free, but it was no use. “Don’t...”

“Goodbye...”

Mr. Cosmo pressed the blade harder and, with a swift yank, pulled upwards and to the side. Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened in pain as the blade cut her throat open. She tried to scream, but blood began to choke her. Mr. Cosmo released her, and onto the floor she crumpled.


	34. Under Siege

The hallway felt a lot longer than Rudy could have imagined. It didn’t seem like the turn was that far away. But then, eyes have been known to play tricks on the mind, and the side hallway only seemed closer than it really was.

The good news was that they were at least getting closer. They hadn’t found any sign of resistance. Ms. Saffron had done a good job with keeping them away. He hoped that it was good enough. So long as they didn’t run into anybody, they should be able to make it back to ChalkZone before it was too late. Snap still had some time left.

Rudy hoped that Ms. Saffron was okay. He felt so bad that he hadn’t gotten a chance to warn her yet about Mr. Cosmo. He understood that she may stand a chance, given she knows almost as much about the building as he does, but that didn’t stop him from worrying about her. Mr. Cosmo was a dangerous man. For her sake, he hoped that she would keep on her guard around him.

Then again, maybe she already knows. She had been locked up by him, and she has seen the horrible way he treats the zoners. She knew how far he was going to go to get him to join him, threatening to kill Snap. She might know that he would kill her, and had taken precautions.

Although he wished he could have warned her, he was grateful that she had helped them. Her distraction bought them time to get to the portal before Cosmo came. They still had some good distance between them and that evil, disgusting man.

But if they did meet resistance, they did have Skrawl, who did have quite a bit of strength and could hold off a lot of these controlled zoners. Rudy hadn’t spoken to Skrawl about that, but if the jellybean wanted to get back to ChalkZone, he would cooperate.

At least, that’s what Rudy hoped. Skrawl seemed to be more cooperative, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last. Skrawl had shown signs of being uncomfortable with acting nicer towards him. That may be a sign that he wouldn’t keep it up for long, and he’d go back to his usual scheming self. Rudy hoped thtat Skrawl would at least remain cooperative until they got to ChalkZone.

Snap’s condition hadn’t improved too much. His temperature went down, but only by a tad. He was still burning up. He hadn’t woken up since he passed out, and that concerned him greatly. This fever could kill him if it wasn’t brought down soon.

Penny was doing all she could to get his temperature further down. She kept pressing the cold cloth against Snap’s head. Well it used to be cold, but his head was so hot it warmed up. In order to get a cooling effect, she had to remove the cloth and blow on it. The air from her breath against the moisture on Snap’s head created a cooling effect. This wasn’t easy for Penny to pull off running, but she was doing a pretty good job.

Their running was suddenly cut short. A horrid screeching sounded out. Something scraped against a surface that they couldn’t see. The high pitched sound caused Penny to wince and step back. She was unable to cover her ears due to holding Snap. Skrawl covered his head and cried out, the sound permeating in his head.

Rudy was the worst off. Not only did he get to feel the pain on his own, the sound tormenting his ears, but he also got to feel Skrawl’s pain due to the connection. The combined sound was enough to make him drop onto his knees in agony. The only one who didn’t react was Snap, and that was only because he was unconscious.

When the sound finally stopped, everyone sighed in relief. That relief soon turned into horrific realization, and they all realized, in an instant, that they weren’t alone in these hallways anymore. And to clarify that, a set of footsteps came towards them, slow and deliberate.

Draow came around the corner, from the opposite direction they were headed. As soon as he saw them, he snarled loudly and started to quicken his pace. Not too fast, but quick enough that he’d be caught up to them in a matter of seconds.

Rudy was shocked. How did Draow find them so fast? Wasn’t Mr. Wilter and his pterosaur supposed to distract him? That made him realize something. Was it possible that Mr. Wilter had...lost the battle? And if he did, was he still...alive? He flinched at the thought of his teacher being dead. He hoped that he was all right.

Rudy took notice of Draow holding something in his jaws. As the beast got closer, he realized that the object in Draow’s mouth was a piece of glass. Draow was displaying just how gentle he could be with his jaws, as he could easily cut the glass and cut himself. At first, Rudy wondered why he was holding the glass, but then he remembered what Draow did before, when Skrawl was in the tank, and what Mr. Cosmo had said.

“Rudy! We need to get out of here!” Penny shouted. “Let’s run before he decides to fly at us! If he does that, we’ll never get out of here!”

Skrawl was still rubbing his head. He nodded in agreement. “Genius girl is right, Tabootie. If we stay here, that thing will stop us from getting back into ChalkZone!”

Rudy knew they were both right. He took one last look at Draow before he and the others broke into a run.

That lasted all of maybe five seconds. Another screech filled the room. This time, it was louder than before. Penny managed to fight back and got further away. She stopped and looked behind her. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Rudy and Skrawl were both on the ground.

Feeling their own pain, as well as each other’s, they were incapacitated, writhing on the ground and covering their ears. The sound grew louder. They both let out a scream of pain as Draow continued to scrape along the glass.

“Rudy! Skrawl! Get out of here!” Penny cried in horror. Her voice was filled with pain from the horrid screeching. “Draow is getting closer to you!”

Rudy snapped his eyes wide open. So that is what Draow was doing. That was why he had brought the glass. He knew that, due to their connection, if they both felt pain in the same place, it would cause double the amount of agony. So he was using the scraping sound, the same one was he used on them before, to slow them down. Draow must be immune, somehow, to his own glassy claw scraping, and as he scratched the glass, he would get closer and closer. Soon he’d be close enough to bite them and they couldn’t be able to get away in time.

Draow was...a lot more intelligent than he had thought. He hadn’t been given any orders to do this. Mr. Cosmo was nowhere in sight. He was not the dumb but obedient beast he had initially thought. He was just as sentient as Snap, Blocky, Rapsheeba, Biclops, all them.

....and he was helping Mr. Cosmo willingly...

That realization horrified Rudy. Before, with Draow being like a loyal dog, he could understand. He thought that Draow just didn’t understand that what his master was doing was wrong. But him being sentient, of being fully aware and conscious, and yet still obeying Mr. Cosmo...that left a sick feeling in Rudy’s stomach.

As he glared in Draow’s direction, trying to fight against the pain, he swore he saw the beast smile at them. And that left him wondering one thing. If there could exist a zoner who would willingly work with a madman bent on enslaving ChalkZone, how many more were there? Could some of these controlled zoners actually have given themselves up willingly, because they wanted to work for Mr. Cosmo?

He didn’t have time to dwell on this thought too long. The screeching sound came to a stop, replaced with a howl of pain. Rudy was immensely relieved when Tsere lunged on Draow’s back from behind. His talons dug into the winged wolf’s shoulders, tearing into them as he pushed him into the ground. Tsere squawked at him as he struggled.

Tsere lowered his head, grabbed the glass from Draow’s jaws, and flung it aside. Then he turned his attention back on the winged wolf and started to peck at him with his long, sharp beak. Draow wasn’t giving up willingly and he bit down on Tsere’s leg, trying to rip it off.

Tsere squawked loudly in pain and flapped his wings rapidly. He managed to lift up into the air, despite the hallway’s ceilings not being high enough for him to fly appropriately. He snagged the winged wolf’s tail in his long beak. He yanked hard, causing Draow to yelp as he released Tsere’s foot. Tsere threw Draow into the wall as hard as he could, and then, a second later, body slammed against him. The force was enough to embed Draow into the wall. He struggled to get free, but for the time being, he was stuck.

“Rudy!”

Swerving his head in the direction of that voice, Rudy called out, “Mr. Wilter?! You’re okay!”

Mr. Wilter rushed towards them. He looked everyone with a concerned look. Then he smiled and said, “Oh thank goodness you’re all okay! I was worried Tsere and I wouldn’t get here in time.”

“No, you came at just the right time.” Penny said. Snap was still unconscious in her arms. She looked down at him with concern. “If you hadn’t come just now...”

Mr. Wilter took notice of the stuck Draow. “Indeed we did in the nick of time.” He looked back at them. “We don’t have must time before that thing will get free. We need to move, now!”

Without saying another word, the group continued to run down the hallway, leaving behind an aggravated Draow. Tsere walked on his feet, wings spread out, behind them. He kept a good pace. Rudy guessed that Tsere was attempting to block Draow in case he got free and came after them.

It didn’t take them long to locate the stairs that Ms. Saffron had told them about. Rudy heard a loud roar and he knew that they didn’t have much time left. The group got up the stairs as fast as they could. No one dared to look back, for fear that if they did, Draow would come after them. The dreadful feeling increased when they heard a crash and a roar, and realized Draow had broken free already.

As they hurried into the room with the chalkboard, Rudy froze, realizing something. He looked up at Tsere. He was a pretty large pterosaur...

“Why did you stop, Rudy? This isn’t a time for...” Mr. Wilter started to say.

Rudy looked over at him. “Can he get through this portal...?” He asked with worry. “I don’t want to leave him behind, especially with Draow...”

Mr. Wilter paused for a momet, then smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Rudy. He can get in.” He motioned towards Tsere. “He can wrap himself up really tightly and drive right through.”

As if to emphasize his point, Tsere, at the moment, wrapped his wings around his body, showing a great deal of flexibility. As he finished, he was narrower than before. He pulled his head up, beak pointing towards the ceiling. He really did look like he could fit through the opening now, if just barely.

Relieved, Rudy ushered everyone through the portal. Penny and Snap were first. Then Skrawl, Mr. Wilter, and Tsere dove in after them. Like Wilter said, he fit enough to go through without too much trouble. Rudy started to climb in when he heard footsteps in the hallway. His eyes widened on horror as Draow poked his head into the room, saw him, and snarled.

“Hurry, Rudy!” Penny cried behind him.

Rudy stumbled through the portal. He moved his hand back back as Draow stuck his head through the portal and tried to snap at him. Rudy tried to push Draow’s head back in, but it wouldn’t budge. In retaliation, Draow bit down onto his left hand, prompting a scream from Rudy and Skrawl.

Before too much damage could be done, Tsere slammed his head against Draow, forcing him to release Rudy and pushed him back through the portal. Draow was on his feet in seconds. Before he could get too close, Rudy quickly erased the portal with his uninjured hand. He felt an impact as he erased the last bit and guessed Draow slammed against the portal.

Rudy looked down at his hand and winced as he saw fresh blood start to drip from it. He tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around his hand to stop the bleeding the best he could. Not the best, but it would do. He looked over at Skrawl to see how he was doing. He was still clutching his hand and he could see red on it. But as the bleeding on his hand slowly stopped, so did the bleeding from Skrawl’s hand.

He turned his attention to Snap. “We need to get to the hospital...and fast!”

Skrawl said, “There should be one near here. I saw it on my way to...” He paused for a moment. “...to get that winged wolf beast...”

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly at the memory. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it now. “Can you show us?”

“Yes, it’s...” Skrawl started to say, but suddenly he was interrupted.

“You guys came back! I’m so relieved you’re okay!”

“Is that Rapsheeba?” Penny asked.

Rudy looked behind them and saw Rapsheeba running up to them. She stopped a few feet away. She paused to take a breath. “I did what you told me to, Rudy. Nobody else disappeared!”

“That is good news.” Penny said with a smile.

Rapsheeba noticed Snap in Penny’s arms, unconscious. “Snap? What happened to him?” She said, her eyes starting to glisten.

Rudy bit his lip. “He...was tortured by Mr. Cosmo.”

Rapsheeba’s eyes widened at that name. “Did you just say...Mr. Cosmo?”

Mr. Wilter nodded his head. “Yes. He is trailing behind us. I don’t doubt he’ll get into ChalkZone soon.”

“But how? I erased the portal.” Rudy said, his eyes wide.

Wilter shook his head. “That would only slow him down. I am certain he has magic chalk stored somewhere. He’ll becoming here, so we better get moving.”

“Rudy, you have to get to the Chalk Mine and now!” Rapsheeba cried.

“That’s where we are headed.” Penny explained. “But first, we need to...”

“The Chalk Mine is under attack!” Rapsheeba cried in horror.

A gasp came from everyone, even Skrawl.

Rudy remembered Rapsheeba’s reaction to the name Mr. Cosmo. He didn’t want to believe it was true, but..had Mr. Cosmo done something else that they weren’t aware of? He took a step towards Rapsheeba and asked in a cautious voice, “What happened...?”

Rapsheeba cried, “It was terrible! I was going over to let Biclops know that I managed to warn everyone in ChalkZone about the nearly invisible portal, and when I got there, he had been attacked!”

“Attacked?!” Rudy gasped. “By who?”

“A group of beast zoners! He didn’t tell me their names. He was in too much pain. But he said that they were followers of Mr. Cosmo.”

Rudy couldn’t believe it. So there really were zoners who turned their back on their own people to work with this horrid man, and willingly at that. He couldn’t tell if he was more horrified or angry at the idea of it.

Rapsheeba continued, “They had been ordered to invade the Chalk Mine and destroy as much magic chalk as they can! And that’s not all...” Her eyes widened in absolute fear as she said the next line. “Rudy...they’re using real world water!”

Rudy’s blood froze at that statement. Real world water? Mr. Cosmo...had actually ordered zoners to bring real world water into ChalkZone? He was absolutely horrified. He saw the damage it could do to a zoner in the real world. But in ChalkZone, where everything was chalk, just how much further could real world water be taken...?

Images of dead and hurt zoners, along with destroyed buildings and property, annihilated landscapes, filled his mind. Terror filled his heart and he couldn’t help but shake. How was he going to fight against this? Rapsheeba wouldn’t lie to them... If she said real world water was involved, then it was. But if everything he drew was made of chalk, then...what was he going to do...?

He looked at the others. Everyone else was just as horrified as he was by this news. They all knew the terrifying consequences of bringing real world water into ChalkZone. It was like bringing fire to a forest. The damage it could cause would be tremendous. Infinite abysses could be formed. Huge portions of ChalkZone could easily be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

And if the magic chalk is all destroyed, he would not be able to do a thing to stop it...

Rudy knew he didn’t have much time to formulate a plan. They had to get Snap to the hospital, and now they had to hurry to the Chalk Mine, which was under attack and that made the situation even more urgent than before. The only to do both at the same time was if they split up.

Mr. Wilter seemed to read his mind. He walked up to Rudy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You, Penny, and the big guy here, head to the ChalkMine. With two of you being creators, you would be better equipped at stopping the intruders.” He looked down at Snap. “Tsere and I will escort Snap to the hospital.”

Although he hated the idea of being separated from Snap again, Rudy knew Mr. Wilter was right. Penny and him were the most capable of handling the intruders. And Skrawl could be helpful, with his size and strength. So long as he was cooperative, the three of them could probably handle these evil zoners easily.

“I understand.” Rudy said.

“Here, I’ll take Snap.” Rapsheeba said. She went up to Penny. Gently, Penny eased Snap into Raspheeba’s arms. Despite not being too much bigger than him, she managed to hold Snap up. She looked at him with concern. She turned to Mr. Wilter. “Let’s get going.”

Tsere lowered him body towards the ground. Rapsheeba and Wilter climbed onto him. He held out his wings and started to flap them.

As they rose up, Rapsheeba yelled, “Be careful!”

“I will!” Rudy called back.

Rudy, though he still felt sad and worried about Snap, was feeling a wave of relief hit him as Snap was finally being taken to the hospital. And on Tsere’s back, they should get there shortly.

He turned his attention to the direction the Chalk Mine was in. In a matter of seconds, he, Penny, and Skrawl, without saying a word, headed off.


	35. Chalk Mine In Peril

“No...” Rudy whispered.

Penny agreed, her eyes widened in horror. “Oh my gosh...”

Even Skrawl was horrified by what they saw.

When Rudy arrived at the Chalk Mine, he didn’t know what he was expecting. A lot of things could have happened with those evil zoners running about with real world water. But when he came, he never expected to see something like this waiting for him.

There, laying on the ground just outside the Chalk Mine entrance, was Biclops. He was out cold, laying on his back. A clear look of agony was etched on his face. For a brief second, it almost looked like he was just napping, but a reddening pool told them otherwise. There were several cuts on Biclops’s body, most likley from the intruders.

But what had horrified the group wasn’t the cuts. It was something else. Half of the giant’s left leg was missing. Erased by real world water. Signs of where the water hit could be seen on the ground. The droplets sunk into the ground, creating many small, but immensely deep, holes in the ground.

In an instant, Rudy understood exactly why Biclops had passed out. The pain from losing his leg must have been tremendous. The sight of Biclops so helpless and defeated made Rudy feel very guilty. He wished he had been there to help fight off the zoners. He was glad that, at least, Biclops was still very much alive.

Rudy watched as Penny walked up to Biclops’s unconscious form and placed a hand on his huge arm, looking at him with concern and empathy. Rudy swallowed hard. He had a hard time believing that any zoner could be so insane as to bring real world water, and actually use it on another zoner. The idea was also quite suicidal. It could easily backfire on them. Why would the zoners risk using such a lethal method to do all this? Or did they have little concern for themselves?

He wouldn’t doubt it. If they were followers of Mr. Cosmo, then it would make sense they’d think little of themselves. Cosmo may have made them think that way. And exactly how, he wasn’t sure. And right now, he didn’t care. It didn’t matter how they became like that. What did matter was that they were in the Chalk Mine now, causing who knows how much havoc in it. If he didn’t hurry, all the magic chalk would be gone.

Skrawl walked towards Biclops’s fallen form. He looks him up and down. He shakes his head in what Rudy guessed was disbelief. He turned his attention to Rudy. “We should hurry into the Chalk Mine. I’ve snuck in here enough times to get a general idea of the layout of this place. If we hurry, we can find these...followers and stop them before too much damage is done.”

Another clear sign Skrawl had changed. Skrawl had, a few times, tried to destroy the Chalk Mine. He almost succeeded once with a robotic version of Rudy. Even distracting the robot didn’t work. What saved them in the end was Penny finding the control and using it to operate the robot and sending it after Craniac 4 and Skrawl.

But now, he was actively trying to help save the Chalk Mine. Again, Rudy wondered what had gotten into him. He had never been this helpful before. And while it still seemed like it took all of Skrawl’s mental energy to do so, the fact was he was still doing this mostly on his own accord. He could have easily left and gone back home. Instead, he went with them to offer assistance. Rudy hoped that this trend would continue.

But he couldn’t go into the Chalk Mine. Not yet. He had to take care of Biclops first. He couldn’t just leave him there, passed out from the pain. He took out his small piece of magic chalk and started to walk up to the giant. He was stopped by Skrawl, who stepped in his path.

“Skrawl, what are you doing?” Rudy asked, narrowing his eyes. “Get out of the way. I have to help Biclops.”

“We don’t have time for that, chalk boy!” Skrawl warned him. “We don’t know how much of the magic chlak has been destroyed.”

“But Biclops...” Rudy looked over at the giant.

“There’ll be plenty more zoners like him if you don’t do something soon!” Skrawl snarled at the boy.

Rudy growled, gritting his teeth. He understood where Skrawl was coming from. He was right. Every second he spent out here was more time that the evil zoners had to destroy more chalk, or do whatever else they were doing. But he couldn’t completely agree with Skrawl. He had to stay and help Biclops. It wouldn’t even take that long.

Ignoring Skrawl, Rudy brushed passed him and rushed over to Biclops. Penny saw him and moved out of the way to give him room to do what he wanted to do. Readying his magic chalk, he began to draw a distinct shape all around Biclops’s severed leg. Within seconds, the leg regenerated, as good as new.

As soon as the leg reformed, Rudy felt incredibly relieved. The appearance of the new leg should relieve Biclops of most of the pain. He’d still have pain from the cuts, but those cuts were nothing compared to losing a leg. He imagined Biclops would wake up soon. He would have waited for him had he not known about the urgency of the situation.

Penny smiled at this, looking relieved. “Way to go, Rudy!”

Skrawl folded his arms and growled softly. “Yeah, good job. Now can we get going?”

Rudy would have called out Skrawl for not being sensitive, until he realized Skrawl wasn’t used to such a thing. Even the act of saving him, he had a hard time to comprehend. That was why he was uncomfortable with acting nice towards him. He literally has some trouble understanding things like companionship and compassion. Or if he did, he never showed it.

Rudy knew there wasn’t much time left to lose. But his heart made it difficult for him to leave Biclops still. He wanted to make sure he was okay. It was in his nature. He was a kind hearted person and he liked to help out people in need. The sight of Biclops injured made him want to stay and ensure his safety. His mind and heart were in a battle against each other. His mind telling him that he needs to leave to save the Chalk Mine, and his mind telling him he needed to help Biclops out.

“Rudy, Skrawl is right.” Penny said, cutting Rudy out of his thoughts. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You helped out Biclops enough. He will feel much better with his leg repaired. But we cannot stay here much longer. We need to get into the Chalk Mine.”

Rudy stared at her. He turned back to Biclops. He still really wanted to help him. But Penny was right. Making his leg all better would help out Biclops a lot. And there were other pressing matters on hand.

“...okay, let’s get going.” He said.

Skrawl rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course you’ll listen to the genius girl.” He said in a somewhat bitterly sarcastic voice.

“Not now Skrawl.” Rudy warned Skrawl. This was not a good time for Skrawl’s antagonistic behavior to start returning.

Luckily, it faded again. Skrawl hadn’t replied to him after that. Instead, he just glared at him as if waiting for him to say something else.

Rudy motioned for them to follow him into the Chalk Mine. Slowly, cautiously, they entered the cavernous chalky cave. At first, it didn’t seem like anything was terribly wrong. Nothing looked that different. Everything looked the same. If it weren’t for Biclops being injured and Rapsheeba’s warning, Rudy would have thought everything was just fine.

But not far walking into the mine, they realized something was very wrong. The first sign of trouble were the various deep holes in the ground, likely from the real world water splashing all over the place. There were very clear paths of these tiny abyss holes. They formed an almost perfect line down several tunnels.

In addition to that, there were a few piles on the ground of what looked like white mush. Rudy realized, in horror, that it was magic chalk, melted from the contact of real world water. Some damage had already been dealt. Rudy couldn’t tell just how much magic chalk was destroyed. But he had to make sure that the same fate doesn’t befall all of the magic chalk.

sss

It felt weird being back in ChalkZone again. Wilter hadn’t been here in a long time. Well there was the short trip to the Chalk Mine to speak to Biclops, but he had to locate the right area to draw a portal for that. He hadn’t actually walked around ChalkZone at all. He simply went to speak to the giant about Rudy’s potential.

This was the first time that he, well and truly, was going through ChalkZone. Some areas, he recognized from his childhood. But a lot had changed. He wasn’t surprised. Mr. Cosmo caused massive damage to the place when they were kids. Much of ChalkZone had been destroyed. So many places he was once familiar with was renovated, or completely replaced, or even gone entirely. This was certainly not the exact same ChalkZone he knew as a kid.

Rapsheeba had been quiet during most of the trip. She only spoke when she was giving them directions to the nearest hospital. Most of the time, she was holding Snap and speaking softly to him, even though he couldn’t hear her. It was plain to Mr. Wilter that, even though he never met Rapsheeba before, that she was a close friend of Snap’s.

Her worrisome expression made him hope they would reach the hospital soon. It shouldn’t be too far now. Rapsheeba didn’t indicate that it would take too long to reach it. Wilter looked at the horizon, studying the buildings below. He tried to find one that looked like a hospital. With how colorful ChalkZone is compared to the real world, it was a little tricky finding the hospital. But he knew it couldn’t be too hard; zoners need medical attention too so the building should at least pop out a little.

Wilter couldn’t help but wonder how he would be recieved when they finally landed. How many of these zoners would recognize him as the one who saved them years ago? How many would be happy to see him? How many would be enraged he came back? How many even knew him? There was also the possibility that, seeing Snap’s horrid condition, they would not bother questioning why he was there and just focus on getting Snap into the emergency room.

Deciding to try to comfort Rapsheeba, he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. He winced as he saw how red her eyes have gotten. “I’m...sure he’ll make it...” That was all he could manage to say to her.

She wiped her tears with her free hand, the other supporting Snap’s body. “I hope so...” She sniffled once before choking out, “What did...Mr. Cosmo do to him..?”

Mr. Wilter flinched visibly at that question. He hadn’t witnessed everything that happened, but he did know at least some stuff Mr. Cosmo had done. And he wasn’t sure if now was a good time to tell her. Rapsheeba was distraught enough as it was. He would feel horrible if he detailed to her just how Snap wound up in this critical condition.

But...she was Snap’s friend... Did she not deserve to know...?

“I...”

He didn’t finish. He heard Tsere let out a squawk. He turned and looked out in front of them. They had arrived at the hospital. He could see zoners scrambling to get away as the pterosaur came down for a landing.

Mr. Wilter turned to Rapsheeba. “I will tell you what I know later. Come on, let’s get Snap into that hospital.”

sss

Mr. Cosmo stared at the blood stains that covered his hand, part of his suit, and the knife. He hadn’t bothered to clean it up. He had other things he needed to take care of first. Getting rid of Saffron had just been one of them.

A part of him felt some regret in killing her, as she had been pretty loyal to him all these years. It was a shame that Snap managed to sway her. He should have seen this all coming from the start. Maybe if he had kept them separated, he could have avoided having to needlessly kill her. He could have made sure that she remained as loyal as Draow still was, or close to it.

He did admire her to an extent. Despite what he may have indicated, he did not regard her as weak. Her actions against him may have caused kinks in his plans, but it did cause him to respect her a little more than he had before. Never before had she put her foot down and taken action like this. That was certainly admirable of her. If only she were to have used that against the enemy and not him...

Cosmo had not completely wanted to kill Saffron. He only did so because he felt that was the only way to ensure his plan was not tampered with any longer. She had outlived her usefulness by betraying him completely. She had to go, no matter how beneficial she could have been later on. And in the end, it had been her loss. If she hadn’t become so blinded, she wouldn’t have had to die.

He pushed thoughts of Ms. Saffron aside. That was in the past. Now, he had to keep focus on the tasks still ahead of him. He had a feeling that Rudy and the others made it back to ChalkZone. He had suspected shortly ago that they would do that. Rudy showed determination, an unwillingness to back down. While he admired that, he also knew that it meant that, despite his best efforts, he may get back to ChalkZone earlier than he had planned.

He came to the room where the chalkboard was. He could see Draow was standing there, stairing at the portalless chalkboard with a peeved look. He could see a bit of a dust smudge on his nose, and he guessed Draow slammed his muzzle against the chalkboard.

Draow swiveled his ears and looked at Mr. Cosmo. He took a step towards him, uttering low, confused growls.

“Do not worry, Draow.” Mr. Cosmo said. “I already have it taken care of...”

Draow looked confused. He turned his teal eyes back to the portal. As if reading his mind, Mr. Cosmo explained what his plan was from here.

“I already sent some...creations...to...greet Rudy and his friends at the Chalk Mine...” Mr. Cosmo said, a grin spreading across his mouth. “I am just...going to let them have some fun before we head in...”

He wouldn’t go back into ChalkZone. Not just yet. He wanted to wait, to give the three he sent to ChalkZone some time to...play with Rudy and his friends. He wasn’t expecting them to defeat them, though that would have been nice.

No, he had something much simpler, but no less sinister, in store for them...

sss

Trying to locate where the intruders had went to was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Rudy couldn’t tell which path was the best one to take. And even just navigating it was treacherous. Some tunnels had been so heavily melted with water that the mere act of walking on the surface could cause it to crack and they’d fall into the endless abyss.

And even if it wasn’t broken up like that, any of the small abyss holes could be dangerous. Who know how steady the chalk around it was? Who knew if the holes won’t grow bigger as they passed by? What was also troubling was if some moisture still remained in the chalky ground. If Skrawl stepped on it...

Rudy flinched at the thought. Dealing with real world water in ChalkZone was dangerous, not to mention tricky. His connection to Skrawl made this encounter just as deadly as it was to Skrawl. If the jellybean where hit by the water, Rudy would get hurt along with him. If either of them dies, the other one will too, leaving Penny alone against the intruders.

This...was going to be one tricky battle...

Penny was walking close to Rudy, her eyes wide in horror at the sight of all the damage these intruders have caused. Skrawl was lagging behind. He looked surprised, as if he never imagined the Chalk Mine would become this damaged.

None of them spoke for a while as they ventured through the mine, trying to locate the intruders. It was almost too quiet. They couldn’t hear any footsteps, voices, not even the sound of running water. It was almost like the intruders knew they were coming and were waiting for them.

Suddenly, Rudy’s eyes snapped wide as he heard the faintest drop mixed in with a crack. All at once, it came to him just what the intruders had been going for this whole time. And he, Penny, and Skrawl had fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

Penny tapped Rudy’s shoulder. “Rudy...do you hear that...?”

The cracking got louder. The trio looked behind them. Their eyes widened in horror as they saw the ground of the tunnel they had chosen give way, falling into a white abyss below. Never had the color white looked so horrifying to them.

They wasted no time. They broke into a run. Their feet carried them as fast as they could go. Huffing and puffing, they refused to stop, not even to look behind them. The crack in the ground was getting dangerously close. Penny almost lost her balance, prompting Rudy to grab her hand and pull her back.

The crack started to speed up a little. Rudy didn’t know how long they’d be able to run. They wouldn’t be able to outrun this crack forever. They had to get onto more secure land and fast. But he could not see any side paths they could take, and he didn’t have much time to look either. And as each second passed, all three of them were in danger of falling forever. The prospect of dehydrating to death was not a pretty thing for any of them to think of.

“Rudy! Over there!” Skrawl shouted.

The crack got too close and they all started to tumble. Skrawl managed to jump away from the edge. He seized Rudy and Penny with one hand and, in a display of strength, threw them to the side. He jumped after them.

The group tumbled across the rocky ground. When they came to a stop, they realized they were in a dark area. They couldn’t tell exactly where they were. Without any source of light, Rudy couldn’t make out the details, and he couldn’t tell if this was a room or just a corner of the cave.

When he looked over at where the light source was, that answered one of his questions. This was a room all right. But not any he recognized. He didn’t even know this was here. He was surprised Skrawl was even able to see it. The entrance was designed in such a way that anyone looking down the tunnel wouldn’t think anything was there. Even the door looked like it was made out of stone rather than would, likely part of the disguise.

The fact that this place was so well hidden filled Rudy with a sense of dread. If Biclops went through all this trouble to keep this place hidden, then they must be in a not so friendly part of the cave. A horrific thought crossed his mind. Had they gone to...where he thought they went...?

There was only one way to find out.

Rudy got out his chalk and walked a little forward. He started to draw a light. He made it large enough that, when turned on, it would light up most, or even all, of this room. When he finished, he took pressed the button to activate it, and he took a step back as light filled the room.

Skrawl took a step back. Penny put her hands to her mouth, stifling a cry of surprise. Rudy stared, disbelieving, at the room’s contents. He had been correct. This was...not a good place to be.

All around him, the walls were charcoal in color, looking like they had been burned by fire. Dark stagmites and stalactites decorated the interior. It was so dark that even the light Rudy drew didn’t fully illuminate everything. The darkness was still present, casting a foreboding feeling in the minds of everyone there.

And off in the corner, in a couple small bunches, was the black chalk. Unlike other chalk, the black chalk didn’t grow from the ceiling. It only grew from the ground. And the bunches that it grew in splayed out, looking almost like spikes on a pufferfish. It didn’t sparkle as much as white or red chalk, either. Instead, it had an eerie black glow around it, creating a sort of foreboding mist.

Just staring at the black chalk was enough to send chills down Rudy’s spine. He knew black chalk was bad, but he had no idea it would get this kind of reaction from him just by looking at it. Skrawl and Penny’s reactions weren’t much better. Skrawl was disturbed by the black chalk’s ominous appearance. And Penny had pressed herself against Rudy, horrified by the black chalk.

And what made things worse is that Rudy could very well have to use the black chalk. The idea of touching one of these things...it sent chills down his spine. How long would he have before the corruption would start?

He began to have second thoughts. Maybe he should talk to Biclops more about it. Maybe there was another way to severe the connection. Yeah, that’s what he would do. He would find the intruders, apprehend them, then go talk to Biclops. Maybe they could work something out and....

A voice broke Rudy from his thoughts.

“We were wondering when you would get here...”

The trio turned their heads to the source of that voice. Coming from a corner of the room were three chalk creatures. It took them seconds to realize that these were the same ones that attacked Biclops, the very intruders they were looking for. They each possessed large water guns, obviously from the real world, each filled with a large tank of water.

“I was wondering if our little trap to lead you into this room would work.” The same one who initially spoke before told them. “This is one of the two rooms Lord Cosmo told us not to damage...”

“Who are you?” Rudy demanded, getting out his magic chalk just in case he had to defend himself.

“I suppose we can tell you our names. Lord Cosmo did not say we could not.” The first one said. This chalk being appeared to be a cassowary of some kind, although he had hands on his wings, which he was using to hold his water gun. “I am Zeal.”

The second one, a female zoner that looked like a cross between an armadillo and a golden tank, complete with golden armor, said, “I am Shimmer.” Her water gun was mounted on her, and she was clearly operating it via command through her robotic parts.

“And I would be Flame.” A red salamander zoner with yellow spots said, wielding his water gun delicately with his whiplike tail.

Zeal took a step towards Rudy, an evil smile plastered on his wickedly sharp beak. “Lord Cosmo wants us to...entertain you three for a time. He didn’t care how we did it, so long as we kept you alive until he came.”

Flame smirked, “After that, good luck. Pray that he doesn’t decide to...”

“Why are you all working for Cosmo? He’s a monster!” Penny cried. “Do you have any idea what he is capable of doing to ChalkZone?”

Rudy nodded in agreement. “I can’t believe any zoner would agree to work for that guy! Why would you work with someone who is trying to enslave your kind?!”

“...that isn’t our concern.” Shimmer said, her robotic eye glowing a slight red. “Besides, Lord Cosmo will take care of us. So long as we remain loyal to him...”

“But...you can’t do this...!” Rudy cried.

Skrawl snarled at the trio, “Do any of you imbeciles have even the slightest amount of dignity?!”

“Mr. Cosmo isn’t to be trusted!” Penny shouted in desperation. “He is just using you to achieve his goals! Once you complete this mission, who is to say he wouldn’t just wash you away in cold blood?”

The trio continued to smile at them. Twisted smiles that reminded Rudy so much of Mr. Cosmo. Wait...were these...were these more of Cosmo’s creations?

He didn’t have time before the trio decided to attack.

“Get them!” Zeal shouted.


	36. Do You Want To Take That Risk?

The attack came swift and suddenly. Rudy was able to get out of the way, but not before he felt the whizz of Zeal’s beak as he tried to strike down the boy. Rudy tumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance. To fight back, Rudy got his magic chalk. Considering that their orders were not to damage this part of the Chalk Mine, he predicted that the evil trio would not use the water guns, and were likely still wielding them just to scare them.

When Zeal came back to attack again, Rudy drew a large, sticky net. The cassowary quickly became entrapped in it. He squawked furiously as he tried to get himself out of the net.

With Zeal temporarily distracted, Rudy looked over at Penny and Skrawl. Penny was being boxed into a corner by Shimmer, who was aiming small cannons at her. Skrawl was trying to slam his fist against Flame, but he was too slow for the slippery salamander. Rudy could feel his hand ache every time Skrawl punched the ground.

He looked at his piece of magic chalk. It was the only one he had and it wasn’t too big. It was enough for him to deal with Zeal for a while, but what about Penny? She had no piece to protect her. Rudy bit his lip. He couldn’t bear to see Penny injured. After all the pain and suffering he had seen, especially done to Snap, he’d be damned if he allowed it to happen to someone else he cared about.

Without a second thought, Rudy broke his piece of the chalk and chucked it towards Penny. He shouted, “Penny! Use the chalk!”

Penny grabbed the chalk just before Shimmer could annihilate it. Penny looked at Rudy and said, “But...Rudy...what if...”

“Penny! Watch out!” Rudy cried.

Penny turned around just in time to see Shimmer fire a laser at her from her cannons. She stepped out of the way, but a second too late. The heat beams grazed her left arm slightly, creating a small but very painful burn mark. She cried out in pain and almost dropped her chalk.

Skrawl turned his head over and saw what had happened. Snarling at Flame, he managed to reach over and grab him. He lifted him up by his tail, ignoring the scorching hot skin as Flame heated his body to defend himself. Rudy winced as he felt the heat effect his hand, almost dropping his chalk.

Shimmer sneered at Penny, watching her hold her arm. “Oh so sorry dear. Do you need something to cool that down with?” She steadied the water gun on her back, aiming it at Penny. “I can get that for you...”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror. Weren’t the trio told by Cosmo not to damage this room? What was Shimmer thinking?

He didn’t dwell on that thought for long. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Skrawl had Flame by his tail and was getting closer to where Penny and Shimmer were. What Skrawl did next, Rudy would not have believed it if he didn’t see it. The jellybean threw Flame over Penny’s head and onto Shimmer, making a direct hit.

The impact caused the two to tumble across the ground. Shimmer might be armored, but she could still feel pain, evident by her cries as Flame’s scorching body slammed into her. It didn’t last long as he was able to cool himself quickly. But damage was already done, resulting in a black mark to appear on Shimmer’s armor.

Rudy felt relief when the heat disappeared from his hand. But he was still surprised by how helpful Skrawl was being. He hoped he would remain this way for a while. They were going to need as much help as they could get for this. But he had no time to think about this too much. He had to remain focused.

Zeal wasn’t on the ground much longer. He tore through the sticky neck with his sharp talons. He rushed towards Rudy and slammed him into the ground. Rudy grunted in pain as Zeal pressed his foot on his chest.

“I can see why our creator is so interested in you...” Zeal hissed through his beaky smile. “You really do have potential. The sticky net was a smart idea...sadly it didn’t save you for long.”

That confirmed it. These three really were more of Cosmo’s creations. That would explain why they were all so twisted, so eager to follow what Cosmo said even if it resulted in ChalkZone being destroyed. They simply didn’t care, just like Mr. Cosmo.

Rudy wondered if these were some of the creations that wreaked havoc in ChalkZone years ago. That was a possibility. Mr. Cosmo had created multiple monstrosities as a kid. It didn’t seem so farfetched that these three were just some examples of what he had done. And that worried him. How many more of Mr. Cosmo’s creations remained? And where were they? Destroyed? Detained? On the loose?

Rudy grunted in pain as the cassowary pressed harder. He thought he heard Skrawl express pain, but given the crashing he heard and Skrawl’s roaring, the jellybean was apparently ignoring it to the best of his ability. Rudy glared up at Zeal.

“I will never join Mr. Cosmo!” Rudy said through clenched teeth.

Zeal let out a soft chuckle. “We will see about that.” He lowered his head towards Rudy. His beak almost touched his face. “You know...I haven’t had this much fun since..I don’t know when!”

Rudy brought up his right hand and started to draw. In seconds, he drew a large bat, which he used to strike at Zeal. The bat impacted against Zeal’s neck, causing him to tumble off of the boy. Rudy jumped to his feet, still holding the bat in his hand. It wasn’t the best weapon, but it was the only thing he could think of on such short notice.

But he didn’t have the bat for long. Zeal squirted a small amount of water at him. It hit against the bat and quickly spread down, dissolving it completely. Some little droplets got on the ground, but thankfully it was just a few, so they may not as as much damage compared to what these zoners did to other parts of the Chalk Mine.

Zeal charged towards the boy at incredible speed. Rudy drew another line of defense. With quick strokes of his wrist, he created a large fan, which he turned on. This caused Zeal to fly back and land in a loud thud on the ground. The cassowary looked almost bemused by the whole thing, reacting as if the large fan hadn’t fazed him.

Rudy was deliberately avoiding using methods that would seriously harm. He didn’t want to badly hurt any of these zoners. He just wanted to stop them. But he couldn’t help but wonder if these three served as nothing more than sacrificial pawns. Was their goal to, somehow, force him to use lethal measures? No, that was a bit extreme. Then again, with what Mr. Cosmo had done...

Zeal rushed towards him. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, even though he was clearly a flightless bird zoner. It took him a while given the force of the fan, but when he got close enough, he squirted more water, this time dissolving parts of the fan so it would be dysfunctional.

The fan started to break apart and tumbled towards the ground. Rudy screamed and jumped out of the way as the fan almost crashed on him. He looked behind and shuddered at how close he came to death. He glared in Zeal’s direction.

The cassowary looked a little surprised. “Oops..didn’t mean for it to fall on ya kid. Lord Cosmo would have had my head if you died so early.” The suprised look was quickly replaced with a satisfied smile. “I am glad you did not perish there. Lord Cosmo still sees hope in you.”

Rudy snarled at him. He looked down at his chalk. He shouldn’t have drawn such a large fan. He was almost out of chalk now. He couldn’t fight against Zeal for much longer.

“And, as you know, with your connection to the big, ugly one...” Zeal said.

“I heard that!” Skrawl snarled at him as he was still fighting against Flame.

Zeal ignored his outburst. “We cannot hurt him. But there is no such risk with your girlfriend there...”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at this. He looked over at Penny. She was trying to hold her own, but she was not experienced of an artist as he was. She could draw, but her lack of artistic skill compared to him made her more vulnerable against Shimmer, who kept trying to fry her with the lasers. And, like him, Penny was almost out of magic chalk, any and all defenses she draws being melted by the water.

“You leave Penny out of this!” Rudy said in a warning tone. “If you dare hurt her, I’ll...”

“Kill us?” Zeal smirked. “Because, if that’s the case, you are more like Lord Cosmo than you will admit...”

Rudy widened his eyes. “That’s not what I was going to say!”

“No, but you were feeling it, weren’t you, kid?” Zeal said, taunting the boy. “Your anger is starting to get the better of you. And before this day is over, you will give into it. You will taste what true power is...and maybe you will see Lord Cosmo the way we do. As a father figure.”

Rudy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Zeal really expecting him to start looking up to Mr. Cosmo? How could he even remotely respect that man? He had been nothing but vile the entire time he has known him. He was manipulative, disgusting, needlessly cruel...everything he has done just made him hate the man more. How could he work with someone who put his best friend in the hospital in critical condition?

Snap was in grave danger. Just a few days ago, he was fine. But his physical health deteriorated at an alarming rate all because of Cosmo. Now he was sick with a high fever, and he was having seizures. He didn’t even know if he was still alive.... All he could do was hope that Mr. Wilter, Rapsheeba, and Tsere could get him to a hospital in time and get treated.

If Snap died...it would be all Mr. Cosmo’s fault... And Rudy would not rest until that man got what he deserved.

“Never...” Rudy hissed, taking a step backwards.

Zeal smirked. “Continue to deny it all you want to. But that will be your fate, boy.”

Rudy snarled at Zeal. He was about to let him and his partners get the best of him. But as he looked over at Penny and Skrawl, he wondered how long they could keep this up. Both Skrawl and Penny were doing pretty good, but the odds were being slowly shifted against them. How long could this go on?

sss

Mr. Wilter told Tsere to wait outside. He had wanted the large pterosaur to keep a lookout for Mr. Cosmo in case he came here, and he didn’t doubt he would try something. Tsere wasn’t happy about being left behind, but he listened to Wilter and remained perched outside the hospital doors.

Mr. Wilter tried to ignore the looks he was getting from the zoners as he walked with Rapsheeba into the hospital. Many were confused by his presense. Some moved quickly away from him, as if they were expecting him to attack. Some were curious, obviously not seeing many humans other than Rudy and Penny.

There were clearly some that seemed to recognize who he was. A few zoners pointed at him, their mouths open in awe. They mumbled to themselves, wondering if he had actually come back. A few weren’t entirely happy to see him, but did not react with the hostility that Mr. Wilter expected.

He hadn’t been the only one getting attention. The zoners were horrified by Snap’s condition as he was carried into the building. The room filled with gasps of utter horror. It was so bad that the receptionist at the front desk immediately grabbed the mic and called for a doctor right away.

In seconds, a pair of doctors had rushed out the door. They were very careful as they took Snap from Rapsheeba’s arms and rushed him down the hallway. It happened so fast, Mr. Wilter hadn’t been sure what they were going to do.

Rapsheeba looked devastated as she wasn’t able to say goodbye to Snap, even though he was unconscious and wouldn’t be able to hear it anyway. And the doctors had to have been extremely terrified as none of them said anything to them at first. They had just taken Snap and rushed him down the hallway. Wilter didn’t know which they were going to treat first. His nail or his fever.

Mr. Wilter was frustrated that the doctors didn’t explain to them what they had to do. But there was nothing he could do. Anything he’d try to say, it would have just slowed the doctors down. He would have just wasted their time, which was the last thing Snap needed right now.

During their wait, Mr. Wilter told Rapsheeba of what he knew happened to Snap. He told her how he had been tortured by Mr. Cosmo, how the thing in his head made him do things against his will, how he had tried to kill Snap. Understandably, Rapsheeba was horrified by it all. She couldn’t understand how anyone could be that cruel to someone like Snap. Mr. Wilter could only nod in agreement.

It wasn’t until about twenty minutes passed before one of the doctors came out to them. He appeared to be a cross between a brown bear and a lion. His name tag read Dr. Urso. He stopped a couple feet in front of Mr. Wilter and Rapsheeba. They looked at him expectedly.

“How is he...?” Rapsheeba said, her eyes brimming.

Dr. Urso shook his head. “Not very good, I’m afraid...”

Wilter flinched at that. Rapsheeba gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, slowly shaking her head.

Dr. Urso looked at them sympathetically. “Whatever that thing in his head is...it’s done massive damage to his neurological system. We detected damage to various parts of his brain...” The doctor flipped the paper on the paperclip he was holding. “We’ve also detected high levels of toxicity in his blood, from an infection from those wounds he recieved. They clearly haven’t been treated, and the infection started to ravage his body, resulting in his high fever.”

Wilter put a comforting hand on Rapsheeba’s shoulder as she started to cry again. Her eyes were getting redder and redder from the tears.

“Fevers, in most cases, are good because they kill off dangerous bacteria and viruses. But in Snap’s case, the infection was so massive, the fever ended up spiking much higher than it should have. And while it’s doing a good job at keeping the toxicity from getting worse, it has caused a lot of harm to his immune system. It is so weak now that if he were to get another infection along with the one he already has...” Mr. Urso closed his eyes and shook his head. “The result would be catastrophic...” He looked over at them. “Has he displayed any other symptoms besides that?”

Mr. Wilter shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

Dr. Urso frowned at this. “Are you sure?”

Mr. Wilter nodded his head. “If I knew anything else, I would have told you.”

“Why...?” Rapsheeba asked, her voice choked. “Is there...something else wrong..?”

“I’m afraid so.” Dr. Urso said as he looked at his charts. “The damage to Snap’s brain is suggestive of the first sign of a seizure. I believe he had one recently. It was localized in the area responsible for locomotion. That could be why his legs have little to no relfex...”

“Did you remove that horrid thing from his head?” Rapsheeba asked.

“No, it’s too risky right now.” Dr. Urso said, his voice full of regret. “We need to get his fever down first. Operating on him now with that high fever would only make things worse for him. Once it’s down, we will remove that thing as soon as we can.”

“He doesn’t have a lot of time...” Mr. Wilter started to say.

Dr. Urso cut him off. “I understand that. But he’ll have less time if we don’t act accordingly, and jump in too quickly.” He paused for a moment. “But right now he is stabilized. Fever is still high, but, if you’d like, you may go visit him. I’ll vouch for you. I’m sure your friend would feel better if you were in the same room as him.”

“Is he awake?” Mr. Wilter asked.

The doctor nodded his head. “Yeah, he’s awake. But he is very weak, so don’t try to talk to him too much. And stay calm. Excitement will worsen his condition.”

Mr. Wilter and Rapsheeba thanked the doctor. Together, they walked down the hallway, guided by Dr. Urso, who led them to the room where Snap was staying.

sss

Things had gotten worse, just like Rudy had predicted.

The evil zoners were using their water guns more often than he thought they would. But they were using such small amounts that it was somehow contained to just what they wanted to destroy, which was anything he and Penny drew. And it wasn’t like they were even destroyed right away. Often, the zoners did allow them use of whatever they drew, and only a minute or so later did they erase it. It was like they were buying time, which Rudy wouldn’t doubt they were doing.

Skrawl was holding up a little well. But not as well as he used to. He kept having to dodge Flame’s heated nostril fire. The salamander apparently got tired of just being a slippery little guy and decided to go on the defensive. He did not hit Skrawl once with his fire, but that didn’t mean Skrawl didn’t try his best to dodge. Rudy knew the only reason the salamander wasn’t trying harder to hit him was because Mr. Cosmo still wanted Rudy himself alive.

Penny was doing worse than before. She had been boxed into a corner, further away from Rudy and Skrawl. She was trying to draw something, but Shimmer decided to act a little quicker and squirted her creation the second it materialized. The tank armadillo then charged towards Penny and pushed her into the ground.

“Lord Cosmo has no use for you, little girl.” Shimmer sneered, her robotic eye glowing brighter. “Now be a good little girl and die...”

“Penny, no!” Rudy shouted. He tried to reach her, but Zeal grabbed him in his beak and threw him aside.

“You’re not going anywhere..” Zeal hissed, snapping his beak shut threateningly.

Skrawl tried to get to where Penny was, but he was blocked by Flame. The salamander started to push Skrawl further away, spewing fire towards the jellybean’s feet to keep him from getting any closer to the girl. Zeal, on the other hand, blocked Rudy’s path, keeping the boy from trying to reach his friend.

Shimmer’s cannons started to glow. Penny’s eyes widened in fear. Using the last bit of her magic chalk, she drew a shield and placed it in front of her just as the heat beams hit against it. She winced as the metal heated up, but she held it in front of her side. It did an adequate job of protecting her from the lasers.

“Your girlfriend is pretty quick on her feet too.” Zeal noted.

“Of course she is...” Rudy snarled at the cassowary. “She isn’t as weak as you thought she was.”

“I never said she was weak. Just that I’m a bit surprised that she lasted this long. Especially against Shimmer.” Zeal watched for a moment, amused, as Penny managed to get to her feet and move back away from Shimmer. He looked back down at Rudy. “By the way...did Lord Cosmo tell you what would happen if you don’t disconnect from Skrawl as soon as possible? I am most curious.”

“I know that the black chalk can severe it...” Rudy replied, narrowing his eyes. “And that if I don’t, if Skrawl gets hurt, so do I. And the same applies to him.”

“Yes...yes...” Zeal nodded his head up and down. “But boy, there is a bit more than that. I suppose Lord Cosmo has not told you everything, no?”

Rudy’s eyes widened. Was there something else about this connection he didn’t know about? The way this bird was talking..he didn’t like the sound of it. He already knew the connection was dangerous. He couldn’t imagine how it could become even more dangerous. He took a step back away from the cassowary, staring at him in the eyes.

Zeal apparently took this as a no. His smile broadened. “Well, I’ll be glad to tell you. Lord Cosmo wanted you to know. The connection with Skrawl will get worse over time. The effects will become more exaggerated and dramatic. Soon, you’ll feel twice the pain, then thrice. The damage will increase. What was once just a simple papercut will richochete between you and him, making it ten times worse. And then, the connection will get so bad, that the most minor injury could very easily kill you both...”

Rudy was horrified. He had no idea it was that urgent to severe the connection. He had no idea that it was just going to get worse with time. He didn’t know how long it would take for the effects to start to intensify. Zeal did not give him that detail. But he didn’t have to. Rudy knew it had to have been soon, otherwise it would not be as urgent to severe the connection quickly.

That meant that he had less time than he thought to get rid of this psychic connection. Much less time. He stared at the black chalk around him briefly, their ominous feeling almost goading him to touch them. He shook his head. No, he had to remain strong and wait for Biclops to wake up. He wouldn’t allow himself to be pushed into using the black chalk.

He attempted to whip out his magic chalk to fight Zeal...when he realized there was none left. He looked at his empty hands, horrified. He didn’t have any defense left to fight against Zeal. He took a few steps back as the cassowary started to advance on him.

“Looks like you’re out of luck, Rudy.” Zeal said with a smile. “Maybe you should have grabbed more magic chalk before you left.”

Rudy growled at Zeal and took a defensive stance. If he had to fight bare handed against this evil zoner, then so be it.

But this stance was quickly broken when he heard a scream of terror from Penny. Rudy whipped his head and saw that she was left without her shield, destroyed by the water. And since she was chalkless, she could do nothing against Shimmer now. She was pushed into the ground, the evil armadillo pointing her cannons at her.

“No!” Rudy shouted, reaching a hand out towards her. He couldn’t let her die. He had to do something. But what?

Skrawl had managed to get away from Flame. He kicked the salamander aside, causing him to crash against a single bunch of black chalk, breaking some pieces off. Since Skrawl was immune to the chalk, he grabbed a piece of it and rushed towards Shimmer. Though he couldn’t draw with it, there was one thing he could use it for.

Steadying the black object in his hand, Skrawl slammed it down against Shimmer’s back and knocked her off of Penny. Though Penny looked clearly shocked that Skrawl was the one who saved her, she thanked him anyway and got up to her feet. Rudy felt relief as Penny was okay.

But that relief didn’t last very long. Something happened so quickly, he couldn’t register it. Something that no one would have seen coming.

In a fit of rage, Flame, angry at being kicked away, clearly forgot that he was supposed to be reserved with the water. He sprayed water in Skrawl’s direction. Penny pushed him out of the way...but it had been too late. Droplets of water hit Skrawl in the wrist, cutting in deeply, though not enough to sever the hand.

The effects were felt in Rudy instantaneously. Bloodcurdling screams filled the cave, echoing on the walls. Skrawl clutched his hand, trying to stop the chalky blood from seeping out. And on Rudy, a deep gash appeared in his right hand, cutting him so bad he had a hard time just bending the fingers. Blood poured rapidly out of the wound and he dropped to his knees.

Penny screamed in horror at what was happening. She tried to rush over to Rudy to help him, but she was blocked off by both Flame and Shimmer. They turned their heads to the side so they could keep an eye on both her and on Rudy. A smile came onto both their faces, as if this was part of their plan the whole time.

“So it seems you have been cornered, Rudy.” Zeal said. “You have quite a decision to make...”

As he said this, Skrawl fell to the ground in utter agony, his arm and hand trembling from the pain. And Penny was, once again, forced into the ground, but this time by two zoners.

“Penny...!” Rudy said before crying out in pain from his wrist. He held it tighter, the warm blood flowing faster.

“Your only chance to save your girlfriend and yourself...is to use the black chalk... It will heal you, Rudy. But...you know the risk that comes with, don’t you?” The cassowary smiled as he spoke to the boy. He lowered his head. “You could avoid that inevitable corruption by doing nothing...but you will all die. Blood loss will take its toll on you. And when one of you dies, so does the other...” He looked over at Skrawl. Then he looked at Penny. “And as for her...my comrades will take care of her...”

“No!” Rudy cried in horror.

Zeal sneered at him. “Well...you know what you can do...”

Rudy came to the horrible realization that this is what was planned the whole time. That was why much of the tunnels were destroyed. That was why they had been forced into this room. That was why the intruders cornered and attacked them. It had all been a part of Mr. Cosmo’s plan the whole time. It was a ploy to make him use the black chalk...

Rudy cursed mentally as he realized how clever Mr. Cosmo had been about this. He knew that if much of the Chalk Mine was destroyed, he wouldn’t be able to get to the normal white chalk. He knew that, if he played his cards right, he would be able to force Rudy and Penny to use all the magic chalk, leaving nothing but the black chalk left to use.

And injuring Skrawl...that must have been part of the plan too... Now all their lives were hanging in the balance. And whether or not they live or die all depended on his willingness to use the black chalk. Could he...could he really let himself do that...?

He stared at the black chalk again. He could almost hear its voice talking to him, beckoning him. He shuddered and tore his eyes away from the scene. He stared down at his bleeding wrist. His left hand was getting caked in blood now. The blood dripped onto the chalky ground. He winced. Too much blood could do some damage...and that was the last thing they needed right now...

He looked over at Skrawl and Penny. Skrawl was on the ground, trying his best to stop the bleeding. But he was having trouble. A small pool of blood formed on the ground. And Penny was looking at him, her eyes widened as she stared at his bloody wrist.

“Rudy!” She called out to him. She tried to get free, but she was pushed into the ground by Flame, who used his burning heat to subdue her.

Rudy looked up at Zeal. The cassowary smiled triumphantly down at him, like he knew that he had succeeded in his plan. Rudy closed his eyes, a few tears coming as he realized he really had been boxed into a situation where he didn’t have much of a choice.

He knew...there was no other way... He couldn’t allow anyone to die. He couldn’t let himself or Skrawl die. Who would stand up to Mr. Cosmo? He didn’t know if Mr. Wilter would be able to keep fighting him, especially since he was getting up in age while Cosmo still had some youth to him. He couldn’t allow Penny to die. She was his best friend, too. He loved her. He couldn’t let her suffer the way Snap was suffering.

Rudy let out a sigh. He had made his decision. He looked over at Penny. He gave a weak smile. “Penny..I’m...so sorry...”

“Rudy..what are you...?” Penny asked.

Rudy broke into a dash, blood splattering on the ground as he ran. Penny saw what he was about to do. She started to scream desperately at him.

“No! Rudy! Don’t!” Penny screamed in horror. “There must be another way!”

Rudy approached a patch of black chalk. He stared at it, narrowing his eyes. He bit his lip. This was it. He reached out with his left hand.

“Rudy!” Penny cried.

Rudy wrapped his fingers around a piece of black chalk. He shuddered at the feel of it. Icy cold and almost like grabbing shards of glass.

Penny screamed, “No!”

Rudy ripped the piece of black chalk off. And as he did, the black glow started to wrap around his left hand.


	37. The Black Chalk

Rudy felt cold. Unbelievably cold. His body trembled, and he was unable to stop it. The sharp feeling intensified. It really felt like he was cutting his hand open. But anyone looking could see that there was no blood. He really wanted to let go of the chalk, but, for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to let go of the black chalk.

The black glow had started to travel across his body. It snaked around his back and then reached his right hand. It encircled his arm. He shuddered as he felt the chilly, smokey appendage wrap around his wrist. Then it seeped into the cut. Rudy winced and looked away, feeling like his wrist was getting cut up from the inside.

But seconds later, the sharp pain in his wrist was switched with something more...soothing. He glanced down at his wrist and saw that the cut was slowly healing up. He watched as the blood stopped flowing from the cut. The skin started to reattach itself, forming a small scab on his wrist. Then the scab started to get smaller and smaller until it vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Rudy stared, astonished, at his hand. He raised his hand in the air, turning his arm from side to side. It was as if he had never been injured. He looked over at Skrawl to see how he was doing. The jellybean was back on his feet. He didn’t display any signs of pain and there was no evidence that there ever was an injury on his wrist. So Zeal had told the truth. The black chalk really had healed them both. But...did it severe their connection like he had been told it would?

The black chalk almost seemed to read his mind, as right at that second, it activated once more. A stream of black smoke slithered down his left hand and zipped across the ground. It headed straight for Skrawl. Before Skrawl could react, the smoke tendril wrapped around his body and then tightened around himself. Skrawl squeezed his eyes shut and he cried out as if he were being ripped apart. This lasted only for a second before the black smoke released him and came back to the black chalk from wence it came.

This act caused Rudy and Penny to widen their eyes in shock, as neither of them expected the black chalk to be capable of doing such a thing. Skrawl rubbed the back of his head, looking like he was uncertain to make of what happened. At the same time, the evil zoners were just smirking at the whole thing. They were clearly satisfied that they managed to fulfill their mission.

“See...? It wasn’t so bad using the black chalk, now was it?” Zeal grinned, looking towards Rudy. “You will see it is like a drug. Once you start using it, you will not be able to stop. You have sealed your own fate, boy.”

“N-No...” Rudy started to mutter. The cold feeling was intensifying, spreading through his body. He fought against it, refusing to let the chill take him over. “I w-won’t let...”

“Fight all you want to, child. But it is too late now.” Zeal laughed. “You’ve opened up Pandora’s Box, in a manner of speaking, and now it will consume you. Feel it start to take over. Relish in it. Let it guide you with its secrets!”

Rudy bared his teeth. He refused to listen to the cassowary. He couldn’t allow the corruption to take him over. Not now. Not ever. He had to fight it. He didn’t want to end up like Cosmo. He couldn’t turn into someone like that evil man. He had to keep reminding himself of what his morals were, where his loyalty lied. He couldn’t allow the black chalk to scew his perception like that.

The black chalk’s glow started to get a little brighter. It was spreading from his left wrist and up his arm. He could feel the chilling wave coming over him. All over his body, the glow was spreading rapidly. It didn’t take long before it covered him entirely, bathing him in an intense, black glow.

And yet still, he refused to give in. The evil zoners looked amused. It was like they knew he couldn’t keep this up forever. Rudy closed his eyes tightly and tried to shut his mind. He could barely hear Penny yelling for him to drop the black chalk. He couldn’t hear Skrawl’s shouts of confusion. He couldn’t hear the evil zoners’ snickering. The only thing he could hear was a chilling ringing in his head as the blackness closed in around him.

Yet...just how long could he hold out? The sharpness of the black chalk was growing in intensity. He wondered if it was becoming angry that he wasn’t using it to draw anything. Maybe that was how artists became corrupted. It was not just the mere act of touching the black chalk. But using it seemed to give the black chalk strength. Maybe if he just avoided drawing and dropped the black chalk, maybe he could...

Suddenly, something called out to him.

“Why don’t you draw, boy? Draw...and relish in what you created.”

It sounded like a bunch of voices were calling out to him at once. Their voices, raspy and low, echoed as they talked, like they were bouncing off of each other. Rudy looked around for the source, his head turned up towards the ceiling.

Penny looked at him, confused. “R-Rudy...? What are you looking for?”

Rudy could hear the concern in her voice. He wanted to reply, but, for some reason, his mouth wouldn’t obey him. He remained frozen in that one spot, his head tilted up as he tried in vain to find the voice’s source.

“We have monitored your activites in ChalkZone...We are very pleased with your skills... But don’t you want to take it to a new level...? Don’t you want to be able to do more...? We can help you...”

Rudy managed to move his hands. He used them to cover his ears. His body started to shake and quiver. He tried so hard to block out the voices. But they continued to harrass him, trying to tempt him into using the black chalk. They kept whispering to him and they would not leave him alone. He felt surrounded and helpless. He closed his eyes tightly.

Penny noticed his distress. She reached a hand out towards him. “Rudy! Drop the chalk! Now!”

Shimmer turned her head towards Penny. Her robotic eye glowing, she positioned her laser in the girl’s direction. “You be quiet! This doesn’t concern you...yet...”

Rudy had dropped down to his knees. The cold chill was starting to become too much. He just wanted to lay down and curl up. But no matter how much he hugged himself, rubbed his arms, trying to get warm, the chill was too much. And the smoke that entered his body was traveling through, chilling him from the inside out. It felt like his inner temperature was dropping at an alarming rate. He half-expected his skin to turn blue.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised at how much darker the room looked. It already looked ominous with the black glow coming from the black chalk, and with the charcoal colored rocky surfaces. But now, holding the chalk, it looked so much worse. It was almost like he was looking through the world with a pair of black filters.

And the voices...they were just getting louder. He tried his best to resist them. He tried to block them out of his mind. But as each second passed, it was getting harder and harder to do. He felt his hands start to shake in anticipation, and he realized, in horror, that he wouldn’t be able to fight the urge to draw with the black chalk much longer.

“We only wish to help you... Why won’t you listen...? We only want to teach you...give you knowledge you never could have dreamed about before...Just relax, and let us do the work...”

Rudy clutched his head tightly and shouted, “No! Stop talking to me! I won’t listen! No!”

Flame, who had hardly said anything, spoke in a bemused voice, “Hmph. Kid is a fighter.”

Shimmer gave Flame a sideways glance. “No matter. He won’t last too long. No one can resist the temptation...not even the strongest hearted.”

“How about we give him incentive...?” Zeal said as he turned his head towards the worried Penny. “I’m sure we can be very convincing...”

Skrawl, who clearly didn’t have a full understanding of what was going on, turned to glance at Penny. “What is up with Master Tabootie?”

Penny didn’t bother looking at the jellybean. She had adopted a defensive stance. It was clear she expected Skrawl to turn on her now that he was no longer connected to Rudy. “It’s the black chalk. It completely corrupts anyone who is foolish enough to use it.”

Skrawl raised an eyebrow. “Oh...really..? Well I...”

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence. He was suddenly shoved into the ground by Shimmer. Her hard armor slammed against his soft form. He crashed into the ground with a cry. The side of his head slammed into the cold, unforgiving ground. In a matter of seconds, he had been knocked out cold.

Penny’s eyes widened in shock. “Skrawl!” Before she could take a step, she was instantly cornered by Zeal, who pushed her away with his sharp beak. She turned her head over to Rudy and tried to get his attention. “Rudy!”

That snapped Rudy out of his thoughts, if just for the time being. He looked over and he gasped when she saw Zeal and Flame cornering Penny. And over by Skrawl, Shimmer had her water gun aimed at the jellybean, fully intent at washing him away. Both of them were going to get killed...

...and there wasn’t a thing he could do. His feet wouldn’t allow him to walk. He couldn’t jerk his body around to get anywhere. He was absolutely helpless. The voices continued to taunt him, telling him he would never be able to save them if he continued to deny their help.

The cold feeling was still getting stronger. He couldn’t believe that it was possible. But there he was, feeling like he was standing in the middle of the arctic circle. His body shook so much that he thought that he was going to cause a miniature earthquake. He tried to rub his arms again, but this time, his arms would not move either.

And neither would his head, and his eyes wouldn’t obey. It was like the black chalk took some control of his body...no...his mind...to force him to watch Penny and Skrawl be killed.

No, he couldn’t give into it. He had to force himself to drop the chalk. He tried to force his hand to open up. Slowly, his fingers became unraveled, but before the chalk could slip out, he felt his hand forced shut again. He heard the voices, the black chalk, laughing at his futile efforts to let go.

Zeal turned his head so he could look at Rudy with one of his eyes. “Do you wish to save your girlfriend? Your only choice is to use the black chalk...Use it before she, along with Skrawl, perish forever...You better hurry!” He scratched the ground with his sharp claws, the scraping sound filling the cave room. “I don’t know how long I can keep these tame...”

“Rudy, don’t...!” Penny shouted before having her body slammed hard into the ground by Zeal.

“Shut it, you!” Zeal snarled at her.

Flame came around the other side of Penny. She looked up and her eyes widened in horror as he took a hand, glowing from intense heat, and started lowering it to her, intending to burn her face.

“Penny!”

Without thinking, out of desperation, Rudy managed to force his legs to move. He started to rush towards where Penny was pinned down. He brought out the black chalk and began to draw with it. Black lines filled the once empty space. And once he started to draw, he found it hard to stop.

“There that wasn’t so...” Zeal started to say before his eyes widened at what Rudy drew. “...hard...?”

Rudy couldn’t believe what he had drawn. It wasn’t even what he wanted to draw. But the black chalk didn’t make him draw this. It wasn’t the same feeling as with the red chalk, which would physically yank his hand to draw whatever it wanted. With this, it was him doing it, and yet it wasn’t him. Like...some part of him had surfaced, a side that he had never wanted to see.

It was a similiar feeling he felt when he had wrote that poison pen letter to Michelle. The same horribly disgustingly satisfying feeling, and it scared him. The feeling was starting to overwhelm him as he finished drawing what his subconscious had wanted.

A cannon...

As he got behind it and aimed it towards Zeal and Flame, his green eyes darkened at an alarming rate. A black glow emitted from them, rising from his eyes and leaving behind jagged, smokey trails. As much as he fought it, his mouth started to tick into a smirk as his inner desires started to kick in.

And his desire right now was to make these three pay for what they have done....

“Warning. User corruption at 5%.”

sss

Snap placed a hand on his head. It ached like nothing else. He felt like the world was spinning. No matter how hard he shook his head, he couldn’t get rid of the dizzy feeling. Not that he could shake his head that much to start with. He had never felt this weak before. It was so bad that he was barely able to lift his hand to rub his head with.

He looked around the room. Where was he? What had happened? He searched his mind, trying to find some clue as to what had happened. He recalled being somewhere...big and dark and lit, somehow. He remembered running. Then he remembered heat, and...his mind was drawing a blank.

He let out a groan. How did he get in this much pain? He tried to remember. There was something important that had happened recently. Something that, for whatever reason, terrified him. But he couldn’t remember. He was scared, traumatized, yet he couldn’t think of exactly why that was. And that frightened him as well. Just...just how much had he missed? How long had he been asleep?

He only knew he was not in his home. This place was too white, and the arrangement looked nothing like what he had back at his place. And for some reason, it felt too huge, even though it really wasn’t. He couldn’t think of what it was. Why did it feel so much bigger than it really was?

He continued to rub his head weakly. The headache was tormenting him. His forehead hurt like heck. He consciously avoided it. A slight touch sent wracks of pain through his body. Whatever was in his head that was hurting him....it seemed tied to why he felt so afraid. There was something about this area...something about it he remembered, just enough for him to know he was supposed to be scared.

And he felt so cold. Oh so very cold. Even with the thick blanket over him, he was shivering violently. He could feel sweat beads strolling down his head. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a soft whimper. He was a total wreck. He felt like he was dying. And...as much as it scared him...he wouldn’t be surprised if he was.

He heard beeping next to him. He managed, with all his might, to turn his head over to see what the source was. A monitor was next to him. He looked down at his arm. He only realized, just now, that there was an IV needle stuck into him, putting fluid into his body. This did not settle well with him. Just what was wrong with him that he had to have an IV in him?

He realized, right then and there, that he was in the hospital. But why? Just what had happened to him? Why couldn’t he feel or move his legs? Why was it so hard to move his arms or anything? Why was he having a hard time remembering all this? And why did his back and hand hurt so much? They stung like something ripped him apart. Had that been what happened?

He heard the door open up. Moving his eyes ever so slightly, he could see Rapsheeba walking in. He managed a weak smile. It was nice seeing her. Maybe she could explain what happened. But seconds later, he realized that she hadn’t been alone. And the person who walked in, it was someone Snap never thought he would see in ChalkZone. It was Mr. Wilter.

Snap widened his eyes. What was Mr. Wilter doing here? Had Rudy told him about ChalkZone? Why would he do that? Wait...something was coming back to him. Something about Mr. Wilter made him feel safe. Maybe he...was he the one who tried to help him before? He remembered that...someone tried to take away the pain. It had to have been Mr. Wilter. Why else would he feel a strange sensation of security around this man?

The two walked over beside the white hospital bed he was laying on. There were a couple chairs next to it. Rapsheeba took one while Wilter took the other. Rapsheeba pulled up close to Snap. She reached over and placed her hand on his. She stared at him with a very worried expression. She looked like she had been crying for hours. And Mr. Wilter was very concerned about him as well.

If Snap didn’t realize that he was in trouble before, the way these two people were looking at him confirmed him of it. He felt more afraid now. He really wished he knew what happened. Some bits and pieces were coming back, such as some dark and spooky building, but...not enough for him to know what happened.

“H-Hello...” Snap managed to say. His throat was scratchy and dry. And it took a lot of effort to force words out of his mouth. “W-What happened...?”

“Take it easy, Snap. You’re in no condition to overexert yourself.” Mr. Wilter said in a calm voice. “You’re in the hospital right now. They’re trying to get your fever down before they remove the mind control device from your head.”

Snap struggled to say, “Mind control device...? What...?”

Wilter furrowed his eyes with concern. “You don’t remember?”

Snap closed his eyes and tried to think. The mind control device gave some kind of trigger. Was it important? Was it what was causing him so much pain in his head? He saw images in his head, something putting it in him, but nothing else.

He reopened his eyes and shook his head. “No... I..I don’t remember much...”

Rapsheeba looked at Wilter worriedly. “You...you don’t think he has amnesia, do you?”

Mr. Wilter looked at her for a few seconds. He looked back at Snap. “He may just be out of it. He did pass out from a horrific fever. It must have happened so suddenly that his mind couldn’t cope with it. He’ll remember soon enough, I’m sure.”

“I hope so...” Rapsheeba turned her attention back to Snap.

“W-Where’s Rudy...?” Snap asked when he realized Rudy was nowhere around. “Why isn’t he here...?”

“Rudy is still in ChalkZone. He had to go to the Chalk Mine to fight off some zoners sent there by Mr. Cosmo to destroy it.” Mr. Wilter replied.

Snap’s eyes snapped wide open as the name Cosmo entered his mind. Cosmo...that name sent shockwaves through his body. His mind felt like it was punched by a heavy brick. Suddenly, memories came flooding back to him. The empty voice that was his mind now filled with pictures of what had happened to him.

Draow attacking him from behind...

Being taken to some strange building...

Held prisoner...

Strapped to a table...

Water on the head...

Being controlled like a puppet...

Tortured and used as a bargaining token...

Snap felt his heart start to race. The monitor started beeping faster and faster. His breathing quickened. Tears formed in his eyes as he remembered the threats, the pain, everything. His body’s shaking became more pronounced. His eyes were so wide they looked like they would fall out of their sockets.

His mind started to play for him images of Rudy hurt. He could see Rudy strapped to a table much like the one he was in. He could see an evil man, Mr. Cosmo, torturing him. He saw Rudy writhe in pain and scream for Snap to help him.

Snap started to shake his head from side to side. “No...Rudy..no!”

“Snap! Calm down!” Rapsheeba cried, tearing up as she watched Snap thrash about, horrified by it all. “You’ll make your condition worse!”

“I..need to help him!” Snap struggled to sit up. Adrenaline was rushing through his body, granting him strength. “I have to help him! Rudy!”

Snap was now sitting up. His eyes were wide with fear and determination. He tried to get off the bed. Rapsheeba and Wilter pushed him back down. Snap started to panic, his heart monitor going crazy. It was beeping louder and louder, faster and faster. Snap continued to cry out Rudy’s name as Rapsheeba and Wilter held him down.

Slowly, Snap started to calm down. His body relaxed and he stopped struggling. Wilter and Rapsheeba held him down until they were certain he wasn’t going to try to get away again. As they stepped back, Snap laid down, staring up at them for a few seconds.

Snap started to whimper, tears streaming down his face. “I..I have to help him...why wouldn’t you let me help him...?” He closed his eyes tightly. “W-Why...?”

“Snap...” Rapsheeba whispered. She stroked his cheek gently in an attempt to soothe him. “You’re in no condition to leave this hospital...”

Mr. Wilter nodded his head grimly. “If you want to help Rudy, stay here until you feel better. He will be very worried about you if you left.”

“B-But...” Snap started to say.

“He’ll be fine.” Mr. Wilter said, offering a small smile. “He’s a tough kid. He’ll be able to handle himself.”

For some reason, Snap could not take comfort in those words.

sss

“Rudy..what are you doing...?” Penny whispered, her eyes wide in shock.

Rudy’s glowing black eyes seemed to stare into her soul. It caused her to shudder, a cold chill going up her spine. The black chalk’s voice announcing corruption...it had already started. And even at such a low percent, Rudy’s behavior had already become so unlike him.

She stared, horrified, at the cannon that he had drawn. He had it aimed right for Zeal and Flame. The pair looked shocked at first, but they soon regained their confidence and aimed their water guns towards him to disarm him. For once, she hoped they would hit their target. She did not want to look at that horried rusty red cannon anymore. It wasn’t like Rudy to draw such a terrible thing...

“Sorry, kid, but we can’t let you...” Zeal started to say.

That was all he got out before Rudy fired a cannon ball at him. The ball had flames of blue trailing behind it. And instead of radiating heat, it radiated shere cold. The cassowary ducked to the ground, the ball grazing his back just slightly. He winced in pain.

Shimmer, who had lost interest in Skrawl, raced over to her comrades. She glared over at Rudy. She aimed her heat cannons towards Rudy’s ice cannon. She fired two fiery streams in his direction. Rudy narrowed his black, glowing eyes and fired another ice ball in their general direction.

The cold was so intense that it put out the heat lasers, cutting straight through. Shimmer’s eyes widened and she tried to get out of the way. She reacted too late. The ball smashed into her and she was slammed against the cave walls. There was a horrific crunch and she coughed up blood before dropping down, her eyes losing the spark of life.

“Rudy!” Penny cried in horror. “Stop it! Don’t let the chalk control you!”

Zeal and Flame were just as shaken up. It was clear, from their expressions, this had not been part of the plan. Despite Zeal’s boast about how Rudy would be like Mr. Cosmo if he killed them, he hadn’t planned on Rudy actually carrying out that action. The two were backing away, and Penny could see absolute fear in their eyes.

This lasted a short time before Flame shook his head. He raced towards Rudy, dodging the ice cannonballs using his speed. He got up to the boy and lunged at him, mouth agape. Rudy merely grabbed him, the black glow running through the salamander’s body, clearly lowering his temperature as evidenced by his trembling and skin starting to turn blue.

Rudy looked at the salamander with great contempt before shoving the creature into the cannon. He quickly aimed it at Zeal and he fired. Zeal let out a scream as a battered up Flame was shot in his direction. He managed to get out of the way. Flame crashed into the ground.

Both Zeal and Penny couldn’t stifle their screams of horror when they saw. Flame had been impaled by a sharp rock jetting from the ground. It went straight through his chest, clearly ripping into his heart. He struggled for a few seconds, pulling in vain at the stone spike. Then his body went limp.

Zeal stared at Rudy, horrified. He took a step back. Realizing that he had made a huge mistake, he turned to flee. Rudy didn’t give him much time. He blasted an ice ball at him. Zeal didn’t have time to react. The ball slammed against his neck, breaking it instantly. His body instantly stopped moving and he crashed into the ground. In seconds, he fell quiet and unmoving.

Penny had a hard time comprehending what had just happened. Had Rudy really done what she thought he did? Her body trembling, she took a few steps back away. Rudy had just...he just murdered three zoners... Flat out killed them... This wasn’t like him...

She felt her heart freeze when she saw Rudy turn his attention towards her. For only a brief second, his eyes showed some hint of concern for her. But that quickly melted away, and now he looked at her with just as much menace as the evil zoners he had killed. Penny shivered as she took a step back, looking at Rudy in fear.

“Rudy...please...” Penny begged. She took another step back. “Don’t do this...”

“Warning. User corruption at 25%.”

Rudy turned the cannon towards Penny. She gasped in horror. It was clear what Rudy intended to do with it. She saw him raise his hand to fire another cannon ball...

Suddenly, Skrawl slammed against Rudy, knocking him away from the cannon. The jellybean pressed his foot on Rudy’s chest and attempted to grab the black chalk from him.

“What are you doing?!” Skrawl called out, baring his teeth at Rudy. “You’re better than this! Why are you trying to kill the genius girl? She’s your friend!”

Skrawl didn’t last very long. Rudy drew another weapon, this one a long sword, this one with electricity dancing over it. Skrawl was struck with it, thankfully on the blunt side. Skrawl grunted in pain and tumbled back. Rudy struck again, this time slicing into the jellybean’s side. Skrawl cried out as he fell to the ground. Rudy stood over him, ready to strike down one last time before the jellybean could get to his feet.

“No!” Penny cried. She didn’t want to see another death. She couldn’t bear it.

Penny lunged at Rudy, wrapping her arms around him and sent him and her tumbling into the ground. The two rolled across the floor. Rudy snarled at her and kicked her away. Penny struggled to her feet and looked over at Rudy with determination. He started to advance towards her.

“Warning. User corruption at 35%.”

Penny backed away slowly, her mind racing. Just what was she going to do? She was trapped here. Skrawl couldn’t fight Rudy on his own. He was at a grave disadvantage. And she was no better off. With no magic chalk, how was she going to defend herself?

She stepped on something and almost tripped. She glanced down. Her eyes widened. A white piece of chalk? She then realized that the evil zoners who were gathering the white chalk to destroy could have easily forgotten a piece. They had been waiting for them to come over, and may not have had a lot of time. It made sense that they would forget a piece.

She knelt down and grabbed the white chalk. She looked over at Rudy. She couldn’t believe she was about to do this. But what other choice did she have? If she didn’t do something, Rudy will kill her and Skrawl and who knows who else...

Penny held up the magic chalk, its white sparkle contrasting heavily with the dark glow of the black chalk and prepared to do the one thing she never thought she’d do with Rudy.

Fight him.


	38. Going Downhill Again

Snap couldn’t keep himself completely calm. Every so often, the heart monitor would start to pick up. Stress and fear dominated his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about what might be happening with Rudy. He really wanted to do something to help. The frustration plagued his mind, increasing his headache, something he didn’t need in addition to the pain he was feeling.

It had taken a while, but the pain from his injuries started to register in his head again. He could feel the pain in his hand now. It felt burning almost. Even though it was bandaged, it still hurt him and he rarely moved that hand. The slightest movement caused him pain. And that wasn’t getting into his back injury. He felt like someone took a rake and slowly cut him open. Laying down on his back really hurt him like nothing else, forcing him to lay on his side to avoid the pain.

And then there were his legs. He had seen there were bandages on his feet but he didn’t know why, at least not at first. As his memories came back, he remembered that his feet were burned by vinegar. He remembered how much pain he was in from that, how much it hurt to put pressure on his feet. For the time being, he couldn’t feel them, but the reason was much worse than a burn.

He could barely move his legs, if it all. Maybe a centimeter to the right or left. And he had no feeling in them. He felt almost like half of him was cut off. He was feeling nothing from his hips down. Not even the heavy blanket that covered them.

The idea of losing the ability to walk scared him. What kind of life would he have if he couldn’t even do the simplest tasks without assistance anymore? He didn’t want to burn someone else into helping him. He wanted to do things on his own. Yet that would become difficult if he loses his legs. And given his condition, that was a very real possibility.

The pain in his head reminded him of the cause of all this. The mind control nail that was still in his head. The signal was blocked, freeing him of the nightmare of being controlled against his will. But that did not undo the damage that was already done. His brain had been harmed by this device, and it was really reflecting in the worst ways possible. Having a seizure was terrifying, but then learning he lost the use of his legs shortly after because of it was even scarier.

His mental state had taken a toll. He tried to fight it, but he still experienced blank moments once in a while, where he would lose all his senses and feel like he was trapped in a black void. It was absolutely awful, and he couldn’t do a thing about it.

His only chance was with this hospital. He had to remain here until they got the thing out of his head, and even after that, he still needed to rest and heal up. There was a deep hole in his skull, put there by Mr. Cosmo. And that had to be fixed up before he was allowed release. Leaving it there would only create problems in the long run, and leave his brain more vulnerable to infection.

As he thought about the possibility of brain infection, he remembered the one he already had. His body was fighting against a deadly infection from his wounds which were never treated properly. They coursed through his body, poisoning his blood and causing his temperature to raise. His body was trying to fight the infection, but the electric torture device damaged his immune system, weakening it to less than half of its original strength.

To even have a chance to fight off the infection, Snap had to be put on some IV fluids, filled with germ-fighting medicine to try to kill off the bacteria that infested his body. In addition to that, they also gave him some medicine to bring down his fever, which was dangerously high, a few degrees above the safe level.

The doctors can’t operate on him until his fever goes down. And they weren’t sure how long that would take. They were worried that it might be too late by the time his fever does go down. That wasn’t the news he wanted to hear, and it only served to make him feel more afraid.

But not just afraid. Angry. He was angry that this had happened to him. He hadn’t done anything to deserve something like this. He hadn’t earned the loss of his legs, or his mind. Along with Rudy, he had been helping ChalkZone, willingly putting himself in the line of fire if it meant saving someone else. That was the kind of person he was. He liked to help people. So how was it that a person like him was dealt such a cruel fate?

And bothering him just as much was Rudy. He didn’t want to remain laying here in bed. He wanted to be there for Rudy, to help him in his time of need. Snap hated feeling useless. He hated that his friend had to worry over him so much, fearing for his safety. Snap wanted to be the one to comfort Rudy. He wanted to be the one who help him out of this pickle.

Yet he could do nothing. Without being able to feel or move his legs...what use was he? He couldn’t crawl all the way to the Chalk Mine. That would be the worst thing he could possibly do, especially in his delicate situation. And even if he tried, Rapsheeba or Wilter would just bring him back. He had a feeling that, if they had to, they would strap him down.

The thought of them being forced to strap him to the hospital bed sent chills down his spine, as it brought forth memories of when the device was put into his head. It was bad enough that Mr. Cosmo wanted to put it in his head to start with. But the fact that he used water...he could still feel the burning in his head as the water cut into him.

If Cosmo wanted to show Snap just how cruel he could be, he did a very good job of it. His cold laughter, him muffling his cries of pain, driving the nail into his already burning head, all this showed just what kind of monster he was. And if he could do that to him without showing any sign of remorse, just what else was this guy capable of?

That was all the more reason for him to want to leave this hospital and go help Rudy. There was no way he could do it, and he couldn’t even begin to try. But the thought was tempting. He was even considering getting on Tsere and having him carry him all the way to the Chalk Mine. Even though he was hurt, he was still one extra person Cosmo had to deal with, and one person could make all the difference.

But Mr. Wilter was right. He couldn’t just get up and leave, not in his condition. If he got seriously hurt hauling himself towards danger, or even killed in the midst of it, Rudy would be absolutely devastated...

And not just Rudy. Penny, Rapsheeba, every one of his other friends...they’d all be heartbroken if he didn’t pull through. He knew he had to listen to Wilter’s advice and stay here and get better. Him recovering would lift everyone’s spirits. It would make them feel better. And while it wasn’t as dramatic as saving Rudy from Cosmo, it would still be impacting.

“Hey Snap...”

Snap turned his eyes to see Rapsheeba walking up to the side of his bed. Mr. Wilter was nowhere to be seen. Rapsheeba placed a hand on his uninjured one.

“Hello, Rapsheeba.” Snap tried to smile the best he could. Smiling through the pain was difficult.

“How are you feeling?” Rapsheeba asked, biting her lip.

Snap flinched and said, “It still feels like my back is being cut up by a sharp stick. And I’m so cold...” With that, he pulled the blankets a bit further up his body in an attempt to get warm. “So in short, I’m still miserable and I don’t feel that much better...”

Rapsheeba nodded in understanding. She sat down on the bed, careful not to aggravate Snap’s injuries. “I was told that...no matter how soon they remove whatever it is in your head...you might still...” Rapsheeba’s eyes started to water.

Snap widened his eyes. “I what? I might still what?” He asked, his voice filled with dread.

“You might still...not fully recover...” Rapsheeba choked out, squeezing his hand tightly. “There’s...so much damage... The doctors aren’t sure if you’ll bounce back, no matter how much time you are given... They’re still...willing to try though...” She attempted to smile at that, obviously wanting to bring some glimmer of hope to Snap.

Snap’s body froze at what Rapsheeba said. He could barely register any attempt Rapsheeba did to make him feel better. The only thing he could hear in his head, over and over, was the possibility that he might still not recover. Even if the device was removed right this second, the damage was so severe already, there might be little to no chance of him recovering...

He felt himself start to shiver harder, and he knew it wasn’t from the cold. The horrible realization, that he may never feel or use his legs again, washed over him heavily. His mind was numb. He couldn’t think of anything, nothing except the fact that he may never, ever recover from this.

It couldn’t be true..no it couldn’t be... He wouldn’t allow it to be... He would...he would recover. He just had to believe it... When the device is removed, he will prove the doctors wrong. He would walk again. He would stop having seizures. He would get feeling back in his leg.

He would be just fine.

Rapsheeba sniffled and wiped away a tear. “I’m...sorry I had to tell you that... The doctors weren’t going to tell you. They were worried that..”

She couldn’t finish, but Snap understood what she was going to say. The doctors weren’t telling him because they feared of his reaction. With all the stress he was under, his weakening physical condition, the news may have made things worse for him.

Yet he understood why Rapsheeba told him. Keeping such a thing a secret must have been horrible for her. Rapsheeba wasn’t the type of person to keep things from other people, especially if it was something so dreadfully important like this. She may have just found out a few minutes ago, when she left with Mr. Wilter a little while ago to use the restroom. And even though the doctors didn’t want him to know, she told him anyway.

He was glad she did. Knowing might be scary, but not knowing was scarier. There was no doubt in his head it was a truly frightening situation. He didn’t know how well he’d just to having no working legs. He couldn’t imagine not being able to have fun with Rudy and Penny anymore. He didn’t want to spend his time pushing himself on some wheelchair when, just a few days ago, he could, if he really wanted to, frolick in the fields like some insanely happy deer.

“It’s...it’s okay Rapsheeba...” Snap said in a soft voice. “I’m..glad you told me. I appreciate it. R-Really..”

Rapsheeba smiled at him. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to go get a drink of water... I’ll be right back.”

“Okay...” Snap said.

As he watched her leave, his thoughts went back to knowing versus not knowing. His thoughts soon went to Ms. Saffron. He wondered what had happened to her. He had tried asking Mr. Wilter, but he had no clue. The last time he remembered seeing her, he was still in that awful cell, and it sounded like he was getting through to her.

He wondered if she finally believed him when he said he was real. He wondered if she had finally turned her back on Mr. Cosmo and made her own choices. He did want to speak to her again. There was something about her that he liked. After all of this was said and done, he did want to get to know her more.

He laid his head down. He wanted to get some rest. Even though the pain made it hard for him to sleep, he had to try. It would definitely help his body begin recovering if he got some rest.

As he settled down, attempting to get some sleep, he heard the door creak open. He didn’t bother looking. He knew it was just going to be one of the doctors, Rapsheeba, or even Wilter. He kept his back turned to the door, looking towards the window as he slowly closed his eyes. The footsteps came ever closer, and he realized they were too heavy to be Rapsheeba, so it had to be Mr. Wilter.

He opened an eye to see there was a shadow being cast on his body. Must be the position of the lights. Though he couldn’t understand why Mr. Wilter hadn’t spoken a word yet. Wait, why was he wondering that? Mr. Wilter knew he needed rest. He was just checking on him, making sure he was okay.

Snap felt a hand touch his shoulder lightly. He let out a mumble and twisted away from the hand.

“Go away..” He mumbled. “Trying to sleep...”

“Sleep? Now? But why, little boy? It is such a...beautiful day outside..”

Snap’s eyes popped open. That cold voice...No..not here... It couldn’t be... He turned his head so he could look up at the intruder. As soon as he did, a hand clamped down onto his mouth, silencing his alarmed screaming. The heart monitor was going crazy, beeping like an alarm as his heartbeat increased.

This quickly came to a stop, and it didn’t take long for Snap to realize why. Mr. Cosmo had swiftly unhooked him from the machine...as well as yanked out all the IVs that were hooked up to him.

“No no...” Mr. Cosmo grinned. “We musn’t bother the other patients...that would be rude.” He put a finger to his lips and made a shush sound. “Quiet...”

Snap tried to struggle. He started to hit Mr. Cosmo’s hand with his uninjured one, slamming against it in vain. Cosmo responded by gripping his injured hand as hard as he could and pressing it against the bed. The pain was enough to force Snap to let go.

Cosmo leaned forward, putting his face close to Snap’s. “You’re...going on a little ride...”

Snap’s eyes widened in fear as he felt himself being picked up from the bed.

sss

Penny could not believe this was really happening. Never once did she believe she would fight Rudy..not like this...

Sure they had their spats in the past. They argued. That’s what friends do. Friends don’t always see eye to eye. She remembered the robot they collaborated on together, but they had a disagreement on what the robot’s features should be and agreed to separate. They got over it not long afterward.

But this...this was different...

She was not arguing with Rudy. She wasn’t shouting at him about something he did, or disagreeing with his next course of action. This wasn’t some petty argument that they’d get over a few minutes later and everything would be fine and dandy.

No, this was an all out fight. A duel, with her life on the line. Rudy was actively trying to kill her... No it wasn’t Rudy...It was the horrid evil that came from the black chalk. Whatever it was doing to Rudy’s mind...it was horrible... Rudy had clearly lost the fight against it, and now the black chalk was using Rudy as a puppet, just like how Mr. Cosmo forced Snap to fight them.

“Warning. User corruption at 45%.”

Every time the black chalk announced the corruption level, cold shivers swam through Penny’s body. Each time she heard how corrupted he was becoming, the less and less time she had to do something to save him. The corruption was going faster than she realized, and unless she got that chalk away from him..he’d be like this forever...

Yet..yet she could not just take it from him. Doing so risks spreading the corruption to herself. She would risk letting herself be used like a tool, swung around she was just a stick, and attack everyone around her, friend or foe. A zoner could take the chalk no problem, but the only zoner in here was Skrawl and he was injured.

She did draw, really quick, a medkit for him. He was confused as to why she did it as she just wasted a bit of the magic chalk. But she did not consider it wasting. Even though she had a little less to work with against Rudy, she couldn’t let Skrawl bleed to death. The cut in his side was pretty deep.

Penny could draw a zoner to aid her, but...no she couldn’t do that. Not with Rudy being like this. Penny would feel horrible if she created a zoner only for them to be swiftly killed by the possessed Rudy. That would be truly awful. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if that happened.

Penny was having a hard time holding out against Rudy. Her not being as experienced an artist was really showing here. She wasn’t as quick with the chalk as Rudy, and found herself being boxed further against a corner. She didn’t give up and she continued to fight back as best as she could, taking care not to cause any injuries to her friend.

She had managed to destroy his cannon with a harpoon, but that was quickly destroyed when Rudy sent a simple-minded robot after it. In relatiation, she drew her own robot, but was horrified at how quickly it was beatne. Rudy was still the superior one between the two when it came to creating robotic designs that worked.

As the robot advanced towards her, she tried to think of something that would stop it. Something did come to mind. If she could disrupt the robot’s power source, she could stop it. Thinking fast, she jumped out of the way as the robot tried to fry her with the lasers. She drew a long, sharp sword. She rushed around behind the robot.

Hoping she won’t miss, she threw the sword as soon as she saw an opeing for the power supply on the back. Just like she hoped, it sliced through, causing the robot to cease functioning. She didn’t feel too bad doing this because the robot could always be revived later. That was the advantage of robots. Rebuild them, and they are fine. But regular zoners..that was a different story...

Rudy snarled at the loss of his robot. He began to swiftly draw something else. Penny couldn’t tell what it was at first. But when he was close to being finished, her eyes widened in horror. It looked like a rocket launcher... Only instead of rockets, the edges were lined with electrical swords. If one touched her, she’d be both sliced and electrocuted at the same time...

Rudy took aim at her and fired. A sword sailed through the air, heading straight for Penny. She managed to get out of the way in time. She felt the sword whizz by her head, barely missing her by a hair. She watched as the sword slammed into the rock, getting halfway through before it became stuck.

She turned her head just in time to see another sword get shot at her. She screamed as she fell flat on her back, the only move she could think of to dodge this one. Just like the first one, this sword barely missed her. She could feel the crackle of electricity lightly graze her skin, and she heard the cracking sound of it getting caught in the wall behind her.

She looked over at Skrawl. He was in no condition to do much to help her. He had already tried to get up, but he would fall back down as the pain in his side clearly intensified. It didn’t help that, in one of Rudy’s previous attacks, he had been injured again. The robot had took aim at him at least once before she managed to stop it.

Penny quickly drew up a shield for herself. A large, thick mirror now blocked Rudy’s path to her, but that did not stop the now insane boy from trying to attack her. He shot sword after sword at the shield, the cracks spreading further and further. And it was clear, to Penny, that he was not going to run out of swords any time soon.

Penny stood behind the shield, looking at Rudy in utter terror. Everything he was drawing, it was for lethal purposes. He showed no constraint anymore. And his drawings were all mostly more high tech stuff, such as the ice cannons, the electric swords, the robots, while she relied on more low tech things, such as the harpoon she used earlier to destroy the cannon. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. It was only a matter of time before Rudy drew something she couldn’t stop...

She looked down at her hand. She stared at the small piece of magic chalk she had. There wasn’t as much left. She had already used more than half of it. Once she ran out, she would not be able to fight Rudy anymore. She wouldn’t be able to try to hold him back. And she and Skrawl would be completely defenseless against him.

But Rudy...he had all the black chalk he could want. He wasn’t going to run out of ammo any time soon...

“Rudy...please...!” Penny cried as tears began to drip down her face. Even though Rudy refused to speak, she still tried to reach out to him. “Stop this! This...this isn’t you! Please!”

Rudy paused for a moment. At first, it looked like she had gotten through to him. But then he raised up his black chalk. The glow trails in his eyes began to get a little smaller. Penny guessed that once the glow trails disappeared, if he was still holding the black chalk, he’d be permanently corrupted...

“Warning. User corruption at 65%.”

Rudy began to draw.

“No... Rudy...” Penny begged.

She took a step back, holding the white chalk in her fist tightly. She watched, helpless, as Rudy drew another large weapon. This time, it wasn’t a cannon, but instead a couple of large, black-colored grenades. Penny could see the shere cold radiating from them. Cold...the black chalk seemed to enjoy that element.

Rudy pulled his hand back and threw a grenade towards the shield. It clanged on the ground, then stopped as it barely touched the thick glass shield. Penny’s eyes widened in horror as the object started to glow. She looked over at Rudy and shuddered at the twisted smile on his face.

The grenade exploded.

The sound bounced off the walls, causing both Penny and Skrawl to cry out, covering their heads in an attempt to block it out. For Penny, it did more than just hurt her ears. The shockwave swept in her direction, forcing her a bit away from the shield. She opened her eyes and saw that the shield was breaking up, and soon shattered, sending glass flying in her direction.

Penny was swept back and slammed against the wall. She cried out as her back hit the wall with great force. She tried to hold back her shouts of pain as a few pieces of broken glass cut into her body, slicing her up a little. She slide down slowly and soon she lay there in the corner of the cave room.

Penny slowly opened her eyes and looked up. Her eyes widened as Rudy started to walk up towards her, the evil smile still on his face. He was holding the remaining grenades in his hands. Penny slowly got up to her feet, trembling. She held out her white chalk, prepared to continue fighting for however long it would take.

“Warning. User corruption at 70%.”


	39. Please Come To Your Senses, Rudy

Mr. Wilter didn’t have any idea that this would happen. How could he have? This was a hospital. It was supposed to be safe. Mr. Cosmo should not have known he was here. He shouldn’t have been able to come in so sneakily like he had. He shouldn’t have been able to take him and everyone else by surprise.

And yet..that’s exactly what ended up happening...

Mr. Wilter had ran into Rapsheeba a few minutes ago. She was on her way to get something to drink. Mr. Wilter decided to go with her. Even though he couldn’t drink the water in ChalkZone, that was no reason why he couldn’t go with Rapsheeba.

But on their way down, there was a loud explosion. He heard the loud pained screech of Tsere. He rushed towards the front of the building where the explosion came from. He could see Tsere laying on the ground, unconscious. There were several burn marks of where the explosion had hit him.

Horrified, Wilter rushed over to check on Tsere. He checked for a pulse, and thankfully there still was one. Mr. Wilter looked around the damaged waiting room. Pieces of glass now lay on the ground, shattered and ready to slice up anyone dumb enough to go barefoot. The shockwave of the explosion had knocked the doctors in the receptionist area unconscious.

Mr. Wilter had wondered who would attack a hospital. Then he realized there was one person sick enough to do that, and that was Mr. Cosmo. He looked left and right, trying to keep an eye out for the madman. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around just in time to have a fist slammed against his face. He tumbled down to the ground.

He heard Rapsheeba scream. He opened his eyes and saw as she rushed towards Mr. Cosmo. She didn’t get too far as Mr. Cosmo managed to kick her hard. On the ground she lay, writhing in pain as she held her stomach. She managed to get to her feet, but by then Cosmo had made a dash down the hallway.

As Rapsheeba helped Wilter up, they both realized just what Cosmo came here for. They ran towards Snap’s room, hoping they weren’t too late. Snap couldn’t be taken away from the place that was treating him. He...he might not make it...

By the time they had reached the room, they were too late. Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened in horror as he saw Mr. Cosmo stand on the windowsill. In his arms, he held Snap against himself. Snap was trying to struggle, but his efforts were weak and futile. Mr. Cosmo gave Mr. Wilter an evil smile before he jumped out the window.

Wilter and Rapsheeba screamed in shock and rushed towards the window. They saw that Draow was with him. The winged wolf flapped in front of the window. They realized he no longer held Snap and at first, they feared he had dropped him on purpose. They were somewhat relieved that Draow was holding Snap in his talons, but that did not make the situation much better.

Draow let out a roar at them before he turned and flew off away from the hospital.

Mr. Wilter stared as Draow disappeared into the distance. His eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it. He had failed. Mr. Cosmo was right. He could have saved the hospital from this attack if he had been more alert. And Tsere was hurt because of his neglect...

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself. He rushed back to the front of the hospital. He went outside, being careful to step over the debris, and went up to Tsere’s head. He placed hand on the pterosaur’s head and nudged him a little. The pterosaur’s eyes slowly opened and he let out a weak squawk.

Mr. Wilter was thankful that Tsere still seemed to have some strength left. Though badly injured, he could still move. He managed to get onto his feet. The dust and debris on his back slide off as he stood up straight. He lowered himself so Mr. Wilter could climb onto his back.

“Hold on!” Raspheeba called out, rushing out the door. “I want to go with!”

Mr. Wilter contemplated this. He knew that she was Snap’s friend and she did have every right to go and try to save him. But on the other hand, she could get hurt again. He didn’t want to be responsible for the accident, or even death, of another zoner. It might be safer for Rapsheeba to stay behind than go with him. But still, she is Snap’s friend.

It took him a while to decide on a course of action. He finally decided to let her come with. It may have been the better call. He could use the extra help. Plus she was a zoner and likely knew where a lot of places in modern day ChalkZone were.

And Mr. Wilter had a rough idea on where Mr. Cosmo had taken Snap.

Mr. Wilter reached down and grabbed Rapsheeba’s hand. He pulled her up onto the back of the pterosaur. She hung onto him for support. Tsere spread out his wings. He ran along the road. Though he faltered due to his injuries, he hadn’t slowed down much. In a matter of seconds, he jumped into the air and started to fly up towards the sky.

Mr. Wilter could not see Mr. Cosmo or Draow yet. They must have gotten much further than he thought. Draow could fly pretty fast if he put his mind to it. That did not mean they couldn’t catch up, though. Tsere was even faster at flying.

The pterosaur’s wings flapped harder, pushing himself through the air faster. Already they were picking up speed. So long as Tsere kept this up, it shouldn’t take them long to catch up to Mr. Cosmo and Draow. He just hoped that they would catch up in time before Cosmo decided to ‘drop some weight’, if he felt he had no other choice.

“Rapsheeba. Where is the Chalk Mine?” Mr. Wilter asked.

The question clearly surprised Rapsheeba. She looked at him with a confused expression.

“Why do you need to know that?” Rapsheeba asked.

“I haven’t been in this area in a while and I can’t tell from where which way to...” Mr. Wilter started to say.

“No, I mean...” Rapsheeba tried to find the words to say. “What makes you think Mr. Cosmo took Snap there?”

“Nothing specifically...but I know him well enough that...” Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. He felt the anger start to rise up inside of him as he thought of just what Cosmo was going to do. “He is certain he is close to victory. Whatever is going on in the Chalk Mine, Mr. Cosmo clearly believes that he will win in the end. And he wants everyone to witness it...”

“So he kidnapped Snap to...” Rapsheeba started to say.

“Just to ensure that Snap will be present when it all goes down.” Mr. Wilter said. “Just so that he will be able to witness the beginning of the end... And perhaps also to make sure Snap will be in the immediate area so he can kill him off...”

Rapsheeba gasped in horror. “That’s...that’s terrible!”

“But don’t worry...he is not going to get too far...” Mr. Wilter said with determination.

Tsere began to pick up speed. He moved faster and faster. Rapsheeba had to hold on tighter for fear of falling off. Wilter didn’t bother gripping tighter. He had flown on Tsere many times before and was used to his methods of flying, both slow and fast. He kept an eye out for any sign of Draow. It shouldn’t be long now.

And sure enough, he spotted him. A small dot at first, but it grew rapidly in size. He could now make out the wings of the beast, flapping up and down. Tsere opened his beak and shut it, as if he realized squawking would reveal that he was coming in from behind.

Snap was still being held in his talons. He looked frightened, his arms pinned against his sides by the strong toes. The sharp tips pushed against his body, which caused pain as evident by a few flinches from the blue zoner. Snap tried, a few times, to struggle, but each wriggle only scraped the claws along his body, making his situation even worse.

Tsere started to go lower. He dove down a little. Then he flapped harder, moving faster. Mr. Wilter looked up. So far, there was no indication that either Cosmo or Draow had spotted or sensed them. Tsere was doing an excellent job at keepin quiet. Mr. Wilter smirked a little. Cosmo is not the only one who knows how to be a little sneaky around here.

Tsere darted upwards. Wilter and Rapsheeba hung on tightly, fighting against gravity as Tsere rose at an increasily rapid pace into the air. Tsere flew up in front of Draow, causing the winged wolf to recoil in surprise. Mr. Cosmo was just as shocked by this.

“What the...?!” Mr. Cosmo shouted.

“Hand over Snap!” Mr. Wilter ordered, his finger jabbed in Cosmo’s direction.

Mr. Cosmo blinked a few times. Then he snickered. “Do you really think that you can just get him back....just like that...?” Mr. Wilter growled. “Well...if you want him back...come and get him...”

With that, Draow let out a roar and raced forward. Tsere barely dodged out of the way as Draow flew pasted him. His wing claw cut against Tsere’s wing membrane. The pterosaur let out a loud screech, freezing in midair for a few seconds. He almost lost started to fall down, but he regained his balance and squawked at Draow.

Mr. Wilter watched as Cosmo got Draow to fly even faster. The wings of the beast beat rapidly, pushing himself to go faster. It was still not enough to outfly Tsere, but then Draow would pull manuevers to make Tsere lose his place.

The most common thing Draow would do is move off to the side. Whether Tsere tried to come in from above or below, from the front or from behind, at the last second, he’d move to either the left or the right. The result would be that Tsere would end up overshooting his attack, giving Draow time to fly around him and get in front again.

Draow was better at manuevering like this than Tsere. Although Tsere was a good flyer himself, he was unable to compete with how fast Draow was able to change directions, and because of this, they were no longer able to get close enough to try to take Snap back.

And all the while, they could hear Snap’s cries for help. He knew they were there trying to save them. He struggled in Draow’s talons, even though it was no use. He kept shouting at them to save him. He was eventually silenced when Draow squeezed him hard. This caused Snap to gasp from pain and almost pass out. He went limp in the beast’s claws.

As they continued to fly, trying to rescue Snap, Rapsheeba confirmed what Mr. Wilter had suspected the whole time.

“The Chalk Mine!” She cried. “We’re practically over it now!”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. “Just as I thought...”

But what happened next, Mr. Wilter did not predict. He thought that Mr. Cosmo would have Draow land, grab Snap, and rush into the cave. He thought that he’d want Snap to witness Cosmo’s victory before he is struck down.

Yet...that isn’t what happened. Mr. Wilter’s heart froze as he realized that he might have made the situation so much worse for Snap by attempting to take him back rather than waiting until they were on the ground before making a move.

“I tire of our little chase...” Mr. Cosmo said nonchalantly. He turned his head and addressed the next line to Snap. “I was going to save this for later..but why not..I’ll give it to you now...you deserve it...”

Draow froze in the air, hovering above the Chalk Mine. They were about thirty to forty feet up in the air. Mr. Wilter hollered for Tsere to move faster, his voice filled with dread as he realized just what Mr. Cosmo was going to do.

Draow looked down at Snap, manuevering his foot to examine his prey with contempt. Snap trembled, staring into the beast’s eyes. Then he opened his jaws, and did something that Snap clearly had no idea that he was capable of doing.

In a dark voice, Draow spoke, “May a rock...crush your skull!”

Before Snap had time to react, the bat wolf released him. Snap screamed as he started to fall down towards the ground below.

“Snap!” Wilter and Rapsheeba cried in unison.

As Cosmo and Draow went towards the Chalk Mine, Tsere veered off and dove down to where Snap was falling. He pressed his wings against his body, becoming a bullet in the air. He fell further, faster and faster, trying to get to Snap before it was too late. Snap was falling towards some jagged-looking rocks. Tsere squawked as he tried to pick up speed.

Slowly, the pterosaur started to catch up to the falling blue boy. But it wasn’t going to be enough. He needed to move faster. He pushed himself harder. Rapsheeba started to cry, thinking that they may not reach him in time. Wilter had faith in Tsere, cheering him on.

Tsere narrowed his eyes. He straightened his neck out, attempting to slice through the air at a faster rate. Now he was really picking up speed. And soon, he was getting close enough to Snap to grab. But instead of grabbing him, Tsere moved down underneath. Then he brought out his wings and started to flap steadily. He remained in place as Snap fell onto his back.

Snap landed in Rapsheeba’s arms. She hugged him gently, minding his injuries. Snap trembled, shaken up by what had happened. As he tried to calm down, Mr. Wilter ordered Tsere to go to the Chalk Mine and land.

Once on the ground, Mr. Wilter climbed off of Tsere. He turned around and helped Rapsheeba down, then Snap.

“Are you okay, Snap?” Mr. Wilter asked as Mr. Wilter asked as Rapsheeba set Snap on the ground, allowing him to lean against one of Tsere’s legs.

Snap was still shaking violently. It was clearly from fear. Snap was making some low whimpers, tears flowing down his fast. Mr. Wilter couldn’t blame him. He was very close to death. If it hadn’t been for Tsere, he wouldn’t have made it...

“Y-Yeah...I’m okay...” Snap said. He gave a small smile to Mr. Wilter. “Thank you...”

Mr. Wilter nodded at him, then turned his attention to the cave. No doubt Mr. Cosmo went in already. Draow was certainly accompanying him. Wilter knew they had to act fast and get in there before Mr. Cosmo could accomplish his goal. He knew that Mr. Cosmo would want to make sure Rudy uses the black chalk, to corrupt him, and would kill anyone he did not deem necessary. And if they didn’t hurry, he just might succeed...

“We can’t stand around here.” Mr. Wilter said. He gestured to the two zoners. “Rapsheeba, take Snap back to the hospital. I’ll go in and try to slow down Mr. Cosmo.”

Rapsheeba nodded her head and picked up Snap. She gently carried him as Wilter headed towards the Chalk Mine. However, neither of them got far as something large flew out from the cave. Wilter realized it was Draow. The bat wolf flew so fast that Tsere could not react.

A screech of pain split the air as Draow bit down on Tsere’s wing. There was a sickening crunch and Draow twisted his head back. Blood spilled the ground. The pterosaur fell to the ground, twitching in pain. Draow placed a foot on his back and roared at him.

Mr. Wilter gasped in horror. “Tsere...no!” He took a step back as Draow turned his attention on them. Wilter turned to Rapsheeba and Snap. “Run! Get into the cave!”

Draow licked his lips as he watched them rush towards the cave entrance. He pawed the ground, spreading out his wings in anticipation.

“Going somewhere?” Draow asked mockingly.

With that, Draow bolted into a run. Using his wings to help him move faster, he quickly gained on the retreating trio. He jumped at them, mouth agape. Wilter, Rapsheeba, and Snap screamed in horror and tried to pick up their pace. Draow landed on the ground just inches behind them, the resulting quake almost causing them to lose their footing.

Draow quickly broke into a run. While the trio managed to get into the cave, it wasn’t going to be enough to save them. And by the look of Draow’s twisted smile, the beast knew this to be the case as well. He picked up the speed and let out a roar. Tensing the muscles in his legs, he jumped through the air, bringing his talons forward to rip the two zoners and human into shreds.

“Puny little things! Prepare to die!”

Before he could reach them, something large swatted him away. He howled in pain as he crashed into the ground. It took Wilter a second to realize who had just saved them.

“Biclops!” Wilter shouted, elated at seeing the giant.

Biclops glared down at the wolf bat creature. Draow shook his head as he recovered from the blow. He stared up at the giant. His ears flattened against his skull and he gave a snarl. He jumped up at Biclops. The giant, being larger, grabbed Draow by his neck and squeezed hard.

Draow let out a screech and began to struggle in Biclops’s grasp. But it was no use. The giant had him with a vice grip. He threw Draow into the ground once, hard enough to daze the beast. Draow let out a whine and struggled even more in the giant’s hand.

As Biclops held Draow, he looked down and saw Mr. Wilter. His eyes widened in shock. “..W-Wilter?! What are you...”

“No time to explain!” Wilter shouted. “Rudy’s in danger! Cosmo is in the Chalk Mine!”

Biclops’s face paled. “Cosmo...he is back...?”

“Yes! And he’s going to force Rudy to use the black chalk!”

“The black chalk?!” Biclops cried in horror. “Then we must hurry!”

sss

When Rudy threw the second grenade, Penny barely had time to get out of the way. She scrambled to her feet. She didn’t get far when it exploded. She winced as she felt the chilling burn against her back, tearing her clothes. She turned around to try to fight back.

Rudy advanced towards her slowly, menacingly. The black glow trails had gotten even smaller now, and his corruption level was much higher already. She was running out of time to free him. But with Skrawl now unconscious and her almost out of chalk, it was beginning to look hopeless for her.

Rudy threw another grenade at her. This time, she did manage get far enough away from it before it damaged her. She looked at what little chalk she had left. She looked back at Rudy. She needed to find some way to at least constrain him. Then maybe she could use the last bit of chalk to create rope, which she could use to pull the black chalk away from his hands without having to touch it herself.

“Warning. User corruption at 85%.”

She bit her lip. There was so little time left. She had to act fast.

She drew a long piece of rope. She then tied one end of it to create a loop. She started to whip it around in the air like a lasso. Rudy just smirked at her, clearly not believing that she’d be able to do anything. He quickened his pace, getting out his black chalk to continue the duel.

Penny threw the rope at Rudy. She managed to get it to go around his body. She pulled tightly. Rudy grunted in surprise as the rope tightened around him, pinning his arms to his sides. Unfortunately, this didn’t last very long. Rudy merely took the black chalk and drew a small knife, which he used to cut the rope. It took hime a little longer due to his arms being pinned, but he still managed to do it.

Then he grabbed the rope. Penny’s eyes widened as Rudy yanked the rope forward. She tumbled towards him. He grabbed her by the neck and, displaying unusual strength for a 15 year old, lifted her off the ground with ease.

“Rudy..please...this isn’t you! Fight it!” Penny begged, her eyes wide with fear.

Rudy threw her against the ground. The force knocked the last bit of white chalk from Penny’s hands. She tried to get at it, but Rudy put his foot down on her chest, pinning her firmly. Penny tried to pry his foot off, but it was no use.

She watched, helpless, as Rudy drew another weapon. This one looked like a spear, only the end was heavily serrated and looked like it could cut through anything. Electricity danced around it, sparking every so often.

“Please..don’t do this...” Penny whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Rudy narrowed his eyes at her. He slowly raised the lightning spear.

“Warning. User corruption at 95%.”

Penny trembled at the sight of Rudy raising the weapon above her, fully intent on killing her with it. His eyes were wild with a mix of fury and disgusting satisfaction. Then Penny heard something that made her blood freeze.

“Emergency! Full user corruption imminent!”

That sent shockwaves through Penny. Tears flowed from her eyes faster. No it wasn’t possible...Rudy couldn’t be gone..no...

She stared as Rudy grinned evilly at her. She could see the muscles in his arms tighten, poised for the strike. She trembled, horrified by what all this had led to. She had...she had lost her best friend. Then, Rudy struck down.

Penny let out a scream and turned her head away. “Rudy don’t! Please! Don’t!”

She waited for the blow....and it never came. Penny kept her eyes closed, trembling. When she realized Rudy wasn’t striking, she opened up her eyes and looked up above her.

Rudy was staring down at her. The black glow was still there, but his eyes were wide in shock. His body was trembling, like he was having a hard time pulling the weapon down. Penny realized, in horror, that the spear was just inches from her head. Slowly, it was pulled further back away from her.

Rudy jerked his body backwards, grunting in determination. She watched as he moved himself away from her. It was clear he was fighting the corruption. He gritted his teeth as he was starting to lose the battle again. But his resistance had bought just a tad bit of time.

And that was all that was needed. Skrawl had gotten up just at that point and was rushing over. When he got up to Rudy, he slapped his hand hard.

“Drop that thing!” Skrawl shouted.

He had hit the hand with enough force that the black chalk was thrown from Rudy’s hand. It hit the ground with a glassy clang and rolled to a stop next to Shimmer’s unmoving form.

Skrawl and Penny watched as the black glow quickly left Rudy. His eyes returned to their normal green color. He stammered a little, shaking his head like he didn’t know what was going on. His breathing became ragged and he swayed back and forth. He almost fell over. Penny was about to catch up, but Rudy managed to plant his feet on the ground.

Rudy stared at Penny for several seconds. His expression showed that was he was confused, at least at first. He looked around, and slowly, it seemed the recent events began to sink into his mind. He saw the damage that he himself had caused. He saw the bodies of the zoners he had killed. He looked at Penny and Skrawl, seeing their injuries.

His eyes widened in horror as he seemed to realize what had just transpired. He put his hands to his mouth, his pupils dilating. His body started to tremble.

“N-No...no...I...” Rudy’s eyes began to stream tears. “What have I done...?”

Penny rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Rudy did not react to the hug. His eyes remained wide and he started to cry. Penny held onto him, rubbing his back and whispering comforting words.

“What have I done...?” Rudy whispered in a shaky voice. “I...I couldn’t stop...”

“It’s okay, Rudy...” Penny whispered, hugging him tightly. “It’s okay...it’s over now...Shhh...”

Rudy just continued to cry in her arms.


	40. You Are A Monster

Wilter, Rapsheeba, and Snap headed down the tunnel that Biclops showed them. The tunnel was a sort of back entrance, though the giant rarely used it. The front way was too heavily damaged to travel far in. Biclops couldn’t even talk in too far without risking breaking the ground and falling down, being much heavier than them and all.

Luckily the back entrance did not suffer as much damage. Biclops gave Wilter a small bag of magic chalk so that it would be possible to fight against Mr. Cosmo. Biclops did not go with them. Instead, he stayed behind to help Tsere. Draow was taken care of, knocked out on the ground. The giant assured them that he will make sure Draow does not get into the Chalk Mine and would watch him like a hawk.

Considering Draow’s intelligence, Wilter thought it was very possible that Draow could still go after them, so he did not put his guard down. It just wasn’t worth the risk, knowing what Draow was truly capable of. With his reveal of the ability to speak, Draow has shown to be quite intelligent and able to make his own choices, and was in fact doing this all because he enjoyed it as much as Cosmo, not because he was some dumb attack animal. This was something Wilter didn’t know until today.

Yes, he had done battle against Draow before, many years ago. Draow had been with Cosmo almost since day one, since it all began. But he had never spoken back then. Never uttered a single word. Why had he been silent all this time? And why had he chosen now, of all times, to speak?

Mr. Wilter shook the thought of his mind, as that wasn’t really important right now. What was important was locating Rudy. Biclops had been helpful and told them which way to go to get to where Rudy most likely was. If Mr. Cosmo wanted Rudy to use the black chalk, then the chances are highly likely that Cosmo would have forced Rudy into one room. The black chalk room, which was in a hidden part of the mine. Ever since the Cosmo incident, Biclops had done his best to hide the place where the black chalk grew from the ground.

Destroying the black chalk was impossible. It would just continue growing from that spot, waiting for an artist dumb enough to try use it. Any artist who remained corrupted long enough not only stay like that forever, but a piece of black chalk stays with them, influencing them throughout their lives. At times, their eyes would flicker black, as Mr. Wilter had seen for himself in his struggle against Mr. Cosmo.

That was another reason why the black chalk would never be gone. It practically implants itself in human artists, wanting to spread its corruption to the real world. Even if the Chalk Mine were utterly destroyed, black chalk artists could easily recreate the black chalk and its effects.

Mr. Wilter was certain that had a hand in why Mr. Cosmo was able to remember ChalkZone. It was the black chalk infection inside of him. It remembered what ChalkZone was. That was where it came from. And it helped Mr. Cosmo remember as well.

That thought was disturbing to Mr. Wilter. If Mr. Cosmo could remember thanks to the black chalk inside of him, then what of the other artists? Would they be able to remember too, if their memories were triggered? Would their black chalk infection be able to remind them of what they used to be, and try to go back to ChalkZone? The thought of other corrupted artists going into ChalkZone was very worrying.

Mr. Wilter decided not to dwell on it too much for now. That was a problem for another time. For the time being, only Mr. Cosmo remembered, and that was who he should focus on. Mr. Cosmo had to be stopped here and now. He must not be allowed to continue with his plans. Now was the time for him to pay for all that he has done.

But just what were they going to do? Amnesia wouldn’t work another time, he didn’t think. And even if they could get him to forget, the scars would remain. It wouldn’t be enough for Rudy and Penny to have the man walk free, even if he was amnesiac and didn’t remember anything that he did. His personality would still be dark and twisted. Rudy and Penny would still remember what he did to their friend. It wouldn’t be fair to them.

There had to be something else that could be done. Something that would put a stop to Mr. Cosmo, and hopefully prevent future incidents. There was one thing Mr. Wilter thought of, but the thought made him shudder. Despite Mr. Cosmo being a cruel man, he wouldn’t want to use this method on him...not unless there was absolutely no other choice.

Wilter was torn from his thoughts when he heard a scream from Rapsheeba and Snap. It wasn’t a horrific scream, but a startled one. And Wilter quickly saw why. He stopped his foot in midair, stairing down in horror. The tunnel floor here had collapsed, leading to an endless void below.

The real world water had done a lot of damage even back here. He could still see some ledges that clung to the sides. But they looked pretty unsteady. He didn’t think he’d be able to get over there. He might break the ledges.

He was about to go down another way, but then he paused and looked at the collapsed tunnel. He recalled Biclops’s direction. Minus the collapsed floor, this did look like the path they were supposed to take to get to the tunnel that had the black chalk room. They were getting closer...but they needed a way to get over this gap. How...?

“How are we going to get across?” Rapsheeba asked as she stared over the edge, carefully holding Snap in her arms.

“I’m not sure...but we need to figure out a way and fast.” Mr. Wilter said. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get over. The ledges might collapse if I try jumping on them...”

Snap coughed and looked up at Mr. Wilter. “W-What about the magic chalk? C-Can’t you use it...?

Mr. Wilter looked at the bag of magic chalk. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? Of course, the magic chalk would be able to fix this. But...would he be able to use it again? Only human artists could use it, and he hadn’t use the magic chalk in a long time...

Would it allow him to use it? Opening portals was one thing. Magic chalk would let any artist do that. But bringing creations to life? That was something else...

“I’m...not sure if I can..it’s been so long.” Mr. Wilter admitted. He reached into the bag and pulled out a piece of magic chalk. He stared at it and said, “I know I used the magic chalk to open up portals...but...that doesn’t mean that the magic chalk will let me create things again.”

Snap said, “W-Well...you should try. You never know...”

Mr. Wilter frowned, deep in thought. Snap did have a point. He should at least give it a try. He had been a human artist once. Maybe the magic chalk would remember that and let him use it. It was the only chance they had....well the only good chance anyway. If the magic chalk didn’t work, he’d have to resort to throwing Rapsheeba and Snap over, and given Snap’s frail condition, he could not do that.

It didn’t help that Snap’s condition got a little worse due to the aerial fight. Thankfully it wasn’t a drastic change, but still a drop in his health nonetheless. Mr. Wilter found out, not long after they started walking down the tunnel, that Snap’s fever started to rise again. It had gotten down by a few degrees at the hospital, but now it had risen up again. Combined with that was Snap’s numbness starting to spread a little higher, now being as far up as the middle of his stomach.

Throwing him, no matter how gentle, would make it worse, and Mr. Wilter would rather not take that chance. And he couldn’t send them back to the hospital, not with the possibility of Draow escaping, and the fact that other of Cosmo’s creations could be on the loose. They need to take care of Cosmo first, otherwise Snap was never going to get any better.

Mr. Wilter sucked in a deep breath as he went up close to the edge. He lowered his hand and started to move the chalk along. He hoped that it would work...

And it did. Mr. Wilter couldn’t help but smile as new rocky formations formed with each flick of the wrist. As more structure was created, he moved on top of it, making sure it was strong enough to support him. He kept moving forward, getting closer to the other end of the tunnel. When he finally finished, he turned over to Rapsheeba and gestured her come over with Snap.

But they didn’t get too far. Without warning, something large and fuzzy flew at Rapsheeba and Snap. Wilter’s eyes widened in horror. It was Draow...but how? Wasn’t Biclops supposed to make sure he didn’t get in here? Wait...what if something happened to Biclops...? Had Draow been too much for him? Or did Draow simply sneak way while Biclops wasn’t looking?

He didn’t have long to dwell on this when Draow came at him, kicking him with his leg and sending him flying back onto the ground. The magic chalk spilled all over the ground. Mr. Wilter shook his head and got up, and he was horrified by what he saw next.

Rapsheeba had been pushed into the ground. She was trying to get up, but someone was holding her down. Mr. Cosmo...and in his hands, he was holding Snap by his scarf.

“You...” Mr. Cosmo said as he lifted Snap up slowly until he was eye level with him. “I am...surprised to see you. Alive.” Snap gulped and shivered as a response. Mr. Cosmo just smiled. “Ah...no matter... I’ll take care of you soon enough.”

Mr. Wilter grabbed a piece of magic chalk and pointed it in Cosmo’s direction. “Let him go, Cosmo!”

Mr. Cosmo smirked at Mr. Wilter. “If you think you will be able to beat me again...you should really think twice...”

“If you don’t release him now, I’m going to...!” Mr. Wilter shouted.

Snickering, Cosmo said, “Oh, but I can’t let him go. I’m not through with him yet...” He smiled down at the frightened Snap and started to run his hand along the back of his head as if he were just a dog. “Besides... I want him to be there...to witness what will become of his..friend...” He chuckled darkly as he said that.

“N-No...” Snap started to say, turning his head away.

Mr. Cosmo gripped him by his jaw and twisted his head to force him to look at him. “You were so much fun to break... I wonder what it’s going to feel like when I’m finally rid of you...” Snap trembled at this, looking at Cosmo with fear filled eyes.

Mr. Cosmo looked over and saw Mr. Wilter was rushing towards him, wielding the chalk threateingly. He just smirked at him, as if he had expected this kind of response. He simply took a step back, releasing Rapsheeba. But that only lasted for a second. He grabbed her by the arm and picked her up.

Rapsheeba fought back, kicking and punching at his arm. But it was no use. He didn’t loosen his grip. Instead, he went over to the edge, there still being large parts still not covered. He stared at the void below. He gave her an evil smile before he tossed her aside, towards one of the holes.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened in shock at what Mr. Cosmo did. Tossing a zoner that had nothing to do with his plans over the edge like it was nothing... He rushed over and leaped towards the edge. He ignored the scraping against his belly as he skidded towards the edge. He reached down and was able to grab Rapsheeba before she fell too far.

Although he managed to save her, he wasn’t able to stop Mr. Cosmo from racing down the tunnel, holding onto Snap. He was about to follow him when Draow stepped in front, holding out his wings and screeching at him and Rapsheeba.

Mr. Wilter gritted his teeth. He needed someway to get the magic chalk to Rudy so he stood a chance at Cosmo. It was their best bet to save Snap and stop that madman for good. But with Draow blocking their path, they might not get there until it was too late.

..not unless they split up. Mr. Wilter made up his mind in a split second. He grabbed the bag of magic chalk, though keeping one for himself, and shoved it into Rapsheeba’s hands.

“Take that to Rudy!” Mr. Wilter commanded. He turned his attention to Draow. “I’ll keep this guy busy.”

Rapsheeba’s eyes widened. “But...”

“Just go!” Mr. Wilter pushed her gently, trying to get her to run. “Run!”

Rapsheeba held the bag in her hands tightly and made a run for it down the tunnel. Draow was about to attack her, but Wilter jumped onto his back and held on tightly. The bat wolf screeched and tried to buck him off.

As Mr. Wilter held on, he watched as Rapsheeba fled. His eyes filled with concern.

“I hope you make it in time...” He said softly.

Draow paused, standing with his head low. His teal eyes looked up at Mr. Wilter. His expression was a mix of contempt and amusement. “Do you really think she can make any difference? Lord Cosmo is already head..She will be too late..”

Mr. Wilter glared at Draow and said, “I have confidence in her.”

“Hmph..confidence huh?” Draow said, swishing his tail back and forth. “Well we shall see if you are right to put your trust in her...”

With that, Draow let out a screech and attempted to throw Mr. Wilter off of his back.

sss

“I’m so sorry Penny...” Rudy whispered, his arms wrapped around the girl. “I didn’t mean to...I’m so sorry...”

“It’s okay...it wasn’t you...” Penny said in a comforting voice to him. “Don’t ever think it was you...”

Tears streamed down Rudy’s eyes. “I’m a murderer...”

Penny shook her head. “No, Rudy. You’re not...you didn’t do anything of this.” She pulled him in tighter. “This wasn’t your fault, Rudy...please don’t blame yourself.”

Rudy’s body trembled violently. Penny still held onto him, trying to calm him down. She stroked his hair, whispered comforting words to him, tried to do whatever she could to relax him. But Rudy was still in a state of shock. He barely registered that she was there. He barely registered Skrawl standing nearby. All he was aware of was that destruction had happened...and he had been the cause of it.

The black chalk was horrible...much worse than he could ever have imagined. It was like his thoughts were being poisoned by an outside source. His beliefs and morals were scewed, twisted beyond recognition. The voices tempted him, whispering horrific suggestions to him.

And he had listened... His mind had not been able to hold the thoughts back for long. The black chalk overwhelmed his mind. And he could feel his mind being twisted, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He fought back..and he lost. And when he had given in...it was the most terrifying experience he ever had to endure.

It felt like he was still in control, and yet he was not. He was moving his own limbs, his body. He was doing all the actions he had done on his own...and yet he did not. The black chalk altered his state of mind, tricking him into believing he wanted to do all this. The sickening satisfaction felt good to him, and he had craved more of it. It wasn’t enough to just kill the zoners..he wanted to kill Penny and Skrawl too...just to get that sick feeling of twisted satisfaction.

He knew Penny was right. It was not him doing all that. Not the real him. It was...a twisted part of him that the black chalk created. And that twisted side was trying to fight for permanent control. It frightened him that he came that close to losing himself entirely to this. It was scary to think that he, the real Rudy, would have been replaced by this violent imposter.

Yet he still couldn’t stop feeling guilty. He should have fought harder against the control. He should have been more strong willed and been able to resist. He should have been able to stop himself sooner. Better yet, he should not have given into the black chalk temptation....No, if he had resisted, they all would have died...he had no choice. But..still..he should have shown more resistance...shoudn’t he have?

Rudy was grateful for one thing. At least most of the zoners did not have to bear witness to what had had transpired. He wondered how that would have effected their view of him. Would they think he was becoming just like Cosmo and shun him? Would they want him to leave ChalkZone forever? He shuddered at the realization of how easily his reputation could be ruined if word of this got out.

That’s when he realized that Skrawl could spread word of this. He could tell the zoners what he had done. Rudy’s heart clenched at the thought. Skrawl would go as far as do that, wouldn’t he? Hmm then again, he had been helpful...and even if he did tell, who would believe him? Other zoners knew he was his enemy. Would they believe anything Skrawl said about him?

Slowly, his heart rate returned to normal. He still cried into Penny’s shoulder. He still hung on tightly to her, afraid to let go. He had almost lost her to the black chalk’s sick desires. And it nearly used him as a puppet to do the killing. And it had slaughtered three zoners, using him as the tool to do so. He felt so sick that he had been used in such a manner. He felt terrified that, for a moment, he had been just like Mr. Cosmo...

“Excuse me.” Skrawl’s voice caught their attention. “But isn’t there something we need to take care of first?”

Rudy realized Skrawl was right. They had to repair the Chalk Mine as soon as possible. But how were they going to do that? Rudy couldn’t get out of the room, and there was no way he was ever going to touch the dreaded black chalk again. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened. He might never come back the second time around.

Slowly, he released Penny. He was thankful that she had been there for him to calm him down. “Thank you, Penny...” He wiped away a tear. “I...really appreciate it.”

Penny smiled back at him. She gripped his hand gently in hers and said, “Think nothing of it...” Then a thought clearly crossed her mind. She narrowed her eyes slightly. “How are we going to get out of here?”

He glanced over to the entrance, seeing the void. There had to be someway to get out of here. A secret entrance perhaps? He looked up towards the ceiling. Maybe if he found a way up there, without touching the black chalk, he might find some place they could use to get out of here and go find some normal magic chalk that had not yet been destroyed.

Penny still had a piece of magic chalk left, but it wouldn’t be enough to get them across the void. Skrawl might be able to crawl along the walls, using his claws to cling, but he may not be able to carry the extra weight. He could be sent out to get magic chalk, but who would say he’d even come back for him? He was not connected to Rudy anymore, so he didn’t have an incentive to save him.

He could try to use the last bit of magic chalk they had anyway and hope for the best. But how far would it get them? Maybe just half way down the tunnel and that was it. They’d have to try to jump to the other side, but that might not even work. They could fall down, and if they did, as Penny had put it, they’d fall down forever.

Rudy knew Mr. Cosmo must have fixed it this way. He must have wanted Rudy to be trapped in here with nowhere to go. Nothing to use except the black chalk. He might have forced him to use it once, but Rudy was determined not to use it again. He was not going to allow Cosmo that satisfaction.

Just then, he heard a rock fall from the ceiling. A little pebble actually. It hit the ground, the clang slightly louder due to it reverberating off the walls. He, Penny, and Skrawl turned their heads up. That’s when they noticed something about this room they hadn’t realized before. There was an upper ledge. At the side, they could see a path sloping down.

They were shocked that they hadn’t seen this before. Why hadn’t they noticed it? It was possible that they were so enthralled in the fight against the evil zoners that they failed to notice this.

Rudy walked up to it, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He turned to Penny and Skrawl. “This might be our way out of here. Come along!”

“Are you sure, Master Tabootie?” Skrawl said, looking at the ledge with skepticism. “For all we know, we may end up in another forbidden room in this joint, trapped.”

Penny nodded her head. “Skrawl may be right, Rudy. We should think before we...”

This was instantly cut off when they heard a dark chuckle echoing through the cave walls. The trio’s bodies tensed up at that sound. They turned their heads up, seeing a shadow casted on the cave walls. Someone was walking towards the edge, and they knew instantly who it was going to be.

Rudy gritted his teeth hatefully as he saw Mr. Cosmo stare down at them. The same calm yet twisted smile was etched on his face. He looked at each one of them, the same smile never leaving his face. He took a look at Rudy, their eyes meeting for a brief second, before he shook his head.

“I see you had a taste of the black chalk my boy...”

Rudy’s eyes widened in shock. How did Mr. Cosmo know he had used the black chalk?

Mr. Cosmo almost seemed to hear his thoughts, as he answered the boy’s unasked question almost right away. “I can see the look in your eyes. You felt the power, haven’t you...? The glory..of the black chalk... I am..surprised that you were able to resist it. No artist ever had before...”

“Well there’s a first time for everything!” Rudy declared.

Mr. Cosmo just smirked at this. “It is disappointing...but no matter. You will use the black chalk again soon or later. The urge is inside you...already the knowledge has taken you... You will not be able to resist using the black chalk again...I can guarantee you that...”

“Never...” Rudy snarled.

Mr. Cosmo ignored him. He tilted his head slightly upwards, his gaze now falling upon Penny and Skrawl. He noticed their injuries and laughed. “I see they have witnessed your wrath...good..good... Perhaps you could have finished the job for me...”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this. What was this guy talking about? What was he implying?

“You see...I decided to...streamline my plans. I feel I have...wasted too much time fooling around with the hideous growling jellybean thing there...”

“Hey!” Skrawl snarled, clearly offended by that comment.

Mr. Cosmo turned his eyes to Penny, causing the girl to glare at him and take a step back. “And I should have dealt with your little friend there sooner. I should not have trusted Draow to do it...no matter...that will be corrected soon. But first...”

Mr. Cosmo took a step closer to the edge. He stared down at the trio like he was about to host a concert or something. He seemed to be deep in thought, as if trying to decide what next course of action to take. And it didn’t take him very long to figure something out. He turned around to grab something behind him.

When Cosmo lifted up a frightened Snap in the air, Rudy’s heart skipped a beat. Snap? Wasn’t he supposed to be at the hospital? No...this couldn’t be... He shouldn’t be here... Did Mr. Cosmo take him? He must have...the monster was capable of doing anything. He would be the kind of person to take Snap at his weakest hour and bring him far away from the place that was going to help him feel better.

Snap’s body was shaking and he couldn’t tell if it was fear or from the fever. He realized, in horror, it had to have been both. He could see Snap’s face had reddened, an effect of the terrible fever gripping him. He didn’t look like he recieved any new injuries, but how long would that last?

Mr. Cosmo held Snap in the air, gripping his scarf tightly. Just to be cruel, he shook Snap once, causing him to gag painfully. Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at this. Even Skrawl was uncomfortable with the sight. Then Rudy noticed him pull something out, long and sharp... A knife...

“I think I will take care of the little blue rodent...” Mr. Cosmo said with a grin.

“Snap!” Penny cried in horror.

“Let him go, Cosmo!” Rudy said, clenching his fists with determination. If he had to go up there and punch Cosmo to save Snap, then he would do it gladly. “If you don’t, I’ll...!”

“You’ll do what? Kill me? I believe that is what you told me...” Mr. Cosmo said as he raised Snap slightly higher in the air. He placed a hand on Snap’s cheek and looked into his eyes. He obviously did this to stress and spook the already frightened Snap. He glanced over at the dead zoners. “And I see you already got the guts to kill... I knew you had it in you...congratulations.”

Rudy snarled at him. This man still believed he would become just like him. He still believed he could convince him to come over on his side. He wasn’t going to fall for it. Not anymore.

“I’ll never be like you...” Rudy declared, taking a defensive stance. “No matter what you say...”

Mr. Cosmo smirked at this and placed the knife onto Snap’s neck. Rudy and Penny shouted in horror and tried to get to him, but Cosmo pressed the knife harder, causing Snap to struggle weakly. But even when they backed down, Mr. Cosmo kept the knife at Snap’s neck. He tensed his arm, as if he were preparing to make the kill.

Rudy, Penny, and Skrawl watched in horror. Rudy wanted to rush up there and save his friend. But...how would he get there in time? He had no chalk to help him... He..he had no options... His body started to shake as he stared into Snap’s terrified eyes.

But then, Mr. Cosmo pulled away. He looked up towards the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. “You know....I am forgetting something... Oh yes...a promise I made to...dear Saffron...”

Rudy’s eyes widened at that name. He felt his heart start to race. Had he....had he...?

“Ms. Saffron is twice the person you’ll ever be!” Penny snarled at the man.

“Oh really? And..just where is she?” Mr. Cosmo asked nonchalantly. “If she is such a good person...why isn’t she here helping you..?”

Penny narrowed her eyes. “She is...probably still distracting those zoners for us. The ones you sent after us. But I’m sure she is freeing them right now. She knows the system almost as good as you...” There was slight hesitation in Penny’s voice, as if she wasn’t entirely sure if what she was saying was the truth. But it was clear she really wanted it to be. “And after that, she’ll go to the police...she’ll tell them what you did to Rudy.”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flashed black at that, almost twinkling. “Oh..? You really think so, don’t you..? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..see...she won’t be helping you anymore...”

“W-What..?” Penny took a step back. “I thought..she...”

“Oh no...it’s nothing like that at all...” Mr. Cosmo said, an evil smile on his face. “Perhaps...now is the time for me show you my little...gift...”

Mr. Cosmo took a piece of black chalk that he apparently still had with him. The dark glow instantly started to dance over his body. But unlike Rudy, Cosmo was already fully corrupted, and thus did not lose his control to the black chalk. What he was doing was completely of his free will, no matter how sick and twisted it had become thanks to the black chalk’s taint.

He drew an opening in midair right beside him. The glow was a chilling black and it didn’t sparkle like it would have if it had been white chalk. Rudy wondered why Mr. Cosmo was making this hole. He watched as a large rectangle was slowly being formed. When it was finished, it fizzled slightly, and then an opening appeared.

Mr. Cosmo reached in and grabbed something. He stared down at the trio with a sick, twisted smile. “Here...pay your respects!”

Suddenly he threw something at them. Something large and heavy. It landed in a sickening thud in front of them. Rudy, Penny, and Skrawl took a step back, shocked by what happened. They couldn’t tell what it was at first. Whatever it was, it was not moving at all. Cautiously, Rudy and Penny took a few steps closer, their eyes glued on whatever Mr. Cosmo had allowed to drop from that hole.

Then they realized what it was. And when they did, they screamed in horror and took several steps back away. Skrawl winced at the sight, moving even further back away. Penny and Rudy’s bodies trembled, their eyes widened, faces pale, almost white as ghosts. Snap had let out a cry of his own, making it clear he could see for himself what Mr. Cosmo was showing them.

It was Ms. Saffron...no it was her corpse... She wasn’t breathing. And it didn’t take long for him to realize why. Her throat had been slashed. He could see the blood that stained her neck and business suit. Her eyes were still open. They were just as blank as Shimmer’s was, glossed over and lifeless. Her mouth was still open, as if she had been trying to scream.

Penny put her hands to her mouth. Tears formed in her eyes. “Oh...oh my g...no...” She took a few steps back, her body shaking from the shock and horror of it all. “Ms...Ms. Saffron...no...”

Rudy’s mouth was open, his eyes so big he thought they’d fall out. Pupils dilated until they were practically just dots. Sweat strolled down his face as he tried to comprehend what happened. He..had been too late...he...he really went through with it... And he didn’t stop him...Oh no..why hadn’t he tried harder to warn her? Why...? He was too late now...too late...

“No...no...I can’t believe...” Rudy said, his voice choked as he started to cry. “I should...should have... Oh this is all my fault...”

Skrawl took a few steps back, his mismatched eyes staring at the dead body. Despite all the evil plans he had pulled in the past, he was never prepared to see something like this. Never once did he think seeing a dead body would be..like this...

He looked up at Mr. Cosmo and stammered, “I-I thought she was your...”

“Ally? Well she was..until she turned her back on me...” Mr. Cosmo held Snap over the edge, allowing him to see the dead body below. Snap gasp and he froze, his eyes unable to tear away from the sight. “And this blue nuisance is the reason she had to go...If it weren’t for him...she’d be alive..” He held Snap up to eye level. “Here that, you useless piece of chalk dust? It’s your fault she’s dead...”

Rudy was having a hard time thinking as this was going on. He couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to stare at Saffron’s corpse, but he just couldn’t move his eyes away. He had been to late to save her...In that hallway...he should have warned her. He should have forced his way to her and warn her... She would have had a chance if he did...

And now...now she was gone... There was nothing he could do about it... What had she done to deserve it? All she wanted to do was help...

He glanced over at Penny. She was trembling, tears flowing down her face, as she stared at Ms. Saffron. She was shaking her head slowly from left to right, whispering “No” over and over.

Then Rudy noticed something. Her neck...it was bent at an odd angle. But from the look of the gash on her neck, she died from that, but then why was her neck... He gasped in horror when he realized the truth. Mr. Cosmo had...he had snapped her neck after he sliced her throat... Either to finish the job quickly or just out of spite...

He felt a burning hatred rise up inside of him. He slowly turned to glare hatefully at the man. He was going to pay for this...

sss

Snap couldn’t believe it. He just...couldn’t believe it. He had no idea that something like this was going to happen...

He stared down at Saffron’s unmoving, pale form. He was having a hard time comprehending what had happened. Her face..her open mouth screaming face...silently screaming as if calling for help.. And her eyes...staring into nothingness... This was...so different from what the last time he had seen her.

She had seemed like such a nice person. He had liked her. Not at first, but she proved she wasn’t as bad as he had thought. He thought they were making real progress, and it sounded like she did care about him, despite not knowing if he really was alive...

But now there she was. Laying lifeless on the floor. And he had no idea what had transpired..not until now. Ms. Saffron had been helping them. She had..turned a new life. He had gotten through to her. And how was she repaid? By being stabbed in the back...

“You see...this is the fate of anyone who becomes a threat to me...” Mr. Cosmo said with a broad smile, looking like he was proud of what he did. He turned to Snap and said, “And you want to know what else? She actually felt sorry for you...”

Snap stared at Mr. Cosmo. “She...what...?”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head. “I told her I’d give you the message. And I will. She wanted to say she was sorry. She wanted to apologize for keeping things from you. She wanted to be on good terms with you again. I am certain she wanted to...be friends with you...”

Snap stared at him in shock. Ms. Saffron had wanted to apologize? And she never got the chance to... He stared down at her corpse, his eyes staring to glisten. Poor Ms. Saffron...to be struck down when all she wanted to do was make good with those she had wronged.

“Which is one of the reasons why I killed her.” Mr. Cosmo whispered to the blue boy. Snap turned his attention back to him. “Never being able to apologize...isn’t that quite tragic?” He said sarcastically as he grinned at Snap’s face. The black sparkle came back, and this time it was more dominant. “Oh well...such as life...isn’t that right, you worthless little thing?” Carelessly, he let Snap drop to the ground. He turned his attention to the trio below. “Now..as for you three...I have something special planned for you...”

Snap didn’t hear what the man was talking about. He didn’t hear if his friends responded to him, or if Skrawl had anything to say. All he could think of was what Mr. Cosmo had told him.

He had killed Saffron...largely because she just wanted to apologize to him..? He was certain there were other factors, such as her turning against him. But to use that as a specific excuse to kill her...that was just...inhuman...monsterous. And to rub it in his face? To pit the blame on him...?

Snap stared up at Mr. Cosmo. He still feared him. He still wanted to get away from him. If he could so easily kill like that...to take a life.. He was too dangerous to be around. But..he wouldn’t budge. He wouldn’t move. No, he couldn’t leave. Something was holding him back, keeping him there. As realization began to set in, his eyes slowly narrowed.

Anger began to rise up inside of him. No..not anger...rage... Boiling rage... Mr. Cosmo..had really crossed the line this time... Not only did he kill in cold blood but he had the audacity to show them the body and then act proud about it. He had no heart. No remorse. He was a complete and utter monster..

Snap did something that he thought he’d never do against this man. But as all the pain he felt, all the suffering he had been through, formed together into a powerful rage..he...snapped...

sss

Penny was taken aback when she heard Mr. Cosmo suddenly cry out in pain. She backed a bit away from the ledge so she could get a good look. What she saw, she could not believe.

Snap had grapped his hands around the man’s leg and was biting down on him. Mr. Cosmo tried to shake him off, shouting at him in what sounded like a mixture of anger...and panic. Snap clearly wasn’t letting go. Mr. Cosmo had obviously not expected such a sick and injured zoner to attack him like that.

Then again, neither did she or Rudy.

The two of them, and Skrawl, watched in shock as Snap continued to cling to the man’s leg. When Cosmo realized that he couldn’t just shake him off, he reached down to try to grab him. But this had been a mistake. Snap grabbed onto his shirt collar and pulled him up. Cosmo’s eyes widened in what looked a lot like fear and surprise.

Snap pulled a fist back and punched him, causing the man to lose his balance. On his back, he tried to push Snap away. But the little blue boy was relentless. He slammed another fist against Cosmo, this time on his arm. Mr. Cosmo shifted his body so he was on his stomach, trying to push Snap off of him. But instead, Snap just got on his back and held onto his hair and pulled tightly.

“Get...off of me...” Mr. Cosmo threatened, pulling out a knife in an attempt to scare Snap.

But Snap..he didn’t respond to the knife. At least not in fear. He just glared at Mr. Cosmo and refused to let go of him. Penny had never seen Snap like this. Neither had Rudy. They weren’t sure what to say or think as Snap, despite being weak, continued to fight with Mr. Cosmo.

Mr. Cosmo got up onto his feet, or at least tried to. Fighting with Snap caused him to lose focus of his surroundings. He tripped on a rock and down he fell from the edge. He landed in a heavy thud on the ground. Snap was thrown back by the force, landing a foot or two away.

Penny was about to rush over to Snap when she heard Mr. Cosmo scream bloody murder. The scream was loud and sudden and took everyone in the room by surprise. She looked over and saw that Mr. Cosmo was on his knees, his hand over his eye. She widened her eyes when she saw the knife, now covered in blood. The fall...it must have caused the knife to...

Mr. Cosmo lifted up his face. His hand still clutched his left eye, blood spewing through his fingers. He turned his remaining eye over to Snap, who looked horrified by the outcome of the battle. It was clear this was not what he had intended...

Mr. Cosmo rose to his feet, his teeth clenched and eyes narrowed in anger. He moved at such a quick pace that none of them could have stopped what he was about to do.

“You...little....worm...!”

When Mr. Cosmo came up to Snap, he pulled his foot back and slammed it against his head. Right on the mind control device... Snap screamed in pain and rolled violently backwards, before crumpling on the ground. Snap’s eyes closed and he lay limp on the ground, absolutely still.

“Snap! No!” Rudy shouted as he rushed over towards Snap. Penny followed close behind.

They stared at Snap’s unconscious form. He looked absolutely lifeless. Rudy knelt down and shook him gently. No response. He tried to shake harder, and still nothing. Rudy’s eyes filled with tears. Penny shook her head in disbelief. No...no it couldn’t be true...

“Snap..no..please...get up...” Rudy begged. He pulled Snap into his arms, staring into his unmoving face. “Wake up...wake up...”

Skrawl watched this scene with widened eyes. He was speechless, unsure of what to say or do.

Rudy started to cry harder when Snap wouldn’t respond. “No...come on...wake up, Snap...please...don’t...don’t go..please...” His voice started to break into sobs.

Penny’s lower lip quivered. She didn’t want it to be true. She had to believe Snap was okay. She had to believe he was going to make it. But that kick...right where the...oh no...No.. Her body trembled as she reached down towards Snap’s face. She placed a hand in front of his open mouth, her heart clenching at the thought of him...not making it...

She quickly realized that he was still breathing. A burden felt like it had been lifted. But she couldn’t celebrate. Not now..Snap needed help...and fast...

As she scooped Snap into her arms, she heard someone call out to them.

“Rudy! Penny!” Rapsheeba rushed into the cave room with what appeared to be a bag of white magic chalk. “Mr. Wilter told me to...” Her eyes caught sight of Snap. “..oh no....what happened..? Is he going to be okay?”

Penny took the bag of magic chalk and handed it over to Rudy, but not before grabbing her own piece. She turned her attention to Rapsheeba. “I will explain later. Come on, we need to get him to the hospital..now!”

sss

Rudy glared hatefully at this man. As Penny and Rapsheeba got Snap out of there, he started to walk towards Mr. Cosmo. The man looked at him with a blank expression. He didn’t look angry or upset. He just stared at Rudy as he started to make his way over.

Rudy’s body shook with anger as it built up inside of him. He felt his heart wrench as he tried to cope with it. Mr. Cosmo had shown many times what kind of person he was. But just when he thought this man couldn’t get any worse..he’d prove him wrong. Time and again, Mr. Cosmo had done horrific things...and had gotten away with it.

Well no more... That all ends here and now.

“You know..I used to be afraid of you... I used to fear what you would do next. You had caused me and my friends so much grief in the short time I have known you. You captured my best friend and tortured him, and why? For your own amusement...and to break me... You killed your own co-worker because she started to have a heart. And you know what? She was a stronger person than you will ever be... Because she at least tried to fix her mistakes..but you...I don’t know why I was so afraid of you before.”

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him. His hand was still over his bleeding left eye. His expression was still blank, save for a few twitches of pain.

Rudy continued his rant.

“Because you are the one who is weak. You are a coward. You are so afraid of being wrong...that you resort to killing and torturing to force others into agreeing with you. You are not worthy of any respect that other people have given you. If they found out what you have done...what you are...they will turn their back on you. Not that you’d care, right? All that matters is knowledge and power right...?”

Mr. Cosmo glared at him.

“You have been constantly getting away with doing horrific, inhuman things, Cosmo... You are a monster...a monster that has gotten away with too much... And it all ends here. I will not run from you. I will not hide from you. I am right here. So you want to convince me to join you...? Try to make me...” Rudy said through clenched teeth. “Fight me...and we will see who is right...”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at him with his right eye as Rudy readied his white magic chalk. Then the man smiled through his pain and took out his black chalk.

“Bring it, Tabootie...”


	41. Rudy Versus Cosmo

Rudy narrowed his eyes, staring down at Mr. Cosmo, who was fully prepared to fight him. Even with a missing eye, it looked as if Cosmo still had enough confidence to face him. It might slow him down, but that didn’t mean Rudy would be able to defeat him. He needed to not allow his guard down during this fight.

He realized Skrawl was still in the room with him. Rudy had to get him to leave first. He didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. Skrawl was at a huge disadvantage without his Beanie Boys. He wouldn’t last that long against Cosmo.

Rudy turned his head and gave Skrawl a sideways glance. “Skrawl! Get out of here!”

Skrawl was surprised. “What? Do you really want to face this guy alone, chalk boy?”

Rudy waved his hand, gesturing for him to leave quickly. “Just go! I’ll handle this guy myself!”

Skrawl still seemed hesitant to leave. Rudy wasn’t entirely sure why. It wasn’t like he could do much to help in the fight. He would only put himself in danger. Yes, he could hold down Cosmo, but the man was very experienced in wielding the black chalk, and he could use it against Skrawl. Zoners had a disadvantage against human artists, since they could create anything they want in midair, which means they have an endless amount of weaponry at their disposal.

“Go!” Rudy demanded, pointing towards the ledge. There had to be an exit up there somewhere he could use. After all, Cosmo and Rapsheeba both had come up from that ledge. “Leave now!”

Skrawl finally got the message. He turned and made a break for the ledge, easily scaling it even with just three limbs. Only after Skrawl was out of sight did Rudy turn his attention to Cosmo.

He and Cosmo stood several feet from each other, neither looking away. Both had their magic chalk out. Everything about this encounter was in sharp contrast. Rudy’s white chalk against Cosmo’s black chalk. Light sparkling against dark glowing. A teenager with a heroic heart against a man with a blackhole for a heart. One had managed to break free of the black chalk’s powers, while the other embraced it. One fought for ChalkZone’s freedom, but the other fought for its enslavement.

It all came down to this. All the dangers he went through, all the pain he and the others had to suffer through, all the obstacles they had to overcome, it all came down to this. It all boiled down to this confrontation. The last confrontation against Cosmo, or at least Rudy hoped. He was going to stop Cosmo here and now. No longer will he be able to hurt anyone else. No longer will he be a threat to ChalkZone. He will be stopped here.

“It is...a shame it had to come to this...” Mr. Cosmo said, smirking. “Yet I see there is no..changing your mind..” He winced in pain for a few seconds before looking at Rudy, who stared back at him with a determined expression. “Then..so be it. May our duel...begin...”

Mr. Cosmo suddenly moved forward. Rudy hadn’t noticed it before, but Mr. Cosmo was limping a little, and he wondered, briefly, if Mr. Wilter had given that to him, as there was no way Snap could have hurt his leg that much. With Snap entering his mind, Rudy felt more anger rise up and he moved towards Cosmo, determined to not only stop him, but avenge Snap.

Mr. Cosmo moved his hand away from his eye. Rudy was sickened by what he saw. A swollen bulge where the knife cut into him, and a deep, bloody gash. The eye, which he knew had been sliced open, was hidden well underneath the swollen eyelids and the blood. The gash stretched diagonally across, jagged and torn.

Out the man’s hand went, drawing out a weapon. To Rudy’s horror, it was the same weapon that he almost killed Penny with, only with one minor change. Flames encircled the blade instead of electricity. Mr. Cosmo raised it and swung it down towards Rudy.

Reacting quickly, Rudy drew up his own weapon, a long steel sword. He put it in front of himself and grunted as Cosmo’s spear struck down at him. The impact reverberated through the sword, causing him to tremble slightly. He pushed against the spear, and managed to push Cosmo back away from him.

Mr. Cosmo did not stay back for long. He came at Rudy again and struck out. Rudy countered, blocking the sword from hitting him. Again and again, the two weapons clanged together, echoing through the cave walls. Rudy felt himself being pushed back a little as Cosmo took steps towards him. But soon, Rudy pushed back, almost landing a few blows on the evil man.

Rudy wasn’t used to fighting like this. But he knew he had no choice. Even if he decided to leave now, Cosmo would just chase him down and force him back into the duel he himself had initiated.

And despite not having as much experience as he could have, Rudy was still doing pretty well regardless. He held his ground, managing to avoid getting hit by the spear, blocking it each time. He wasn’t getting any blows himself, but at least he was able to stand his ground regardless.

Killing was not on his mind, but if he could disable Cosmo in some way, perhaps a cut on his leg so he can’t get up, Cosmo could be apprehended, taken back to the real world, and thrown in jail. He could tell the officers that Cosmo had kidnapped him, and this time, he wouldn’t have to worry about looking like a fool. He had been gone so long, his parents must be worried sick about him. If he told them he was kidnapped, which was kind of the case, they would believe him.

And after everyone finds out what this man had done, there was no way he was going to get bail. Not anytime soon. And even if he does get out in a few years, who would hire him? Not many companies would risk being associated with a criminal, especially one willing to capture and hurt children. Karma bites back hard, and Cosmo was not going to be an exception.

Rudy saw an opening, seeing a moment where he could strike Cosmo’s left leg. He attempted to take that chance. He struck out with his sword, but Cosmo had moved just in time. The sword barely grazed the leg, doing not much other than cutting a small hole in the pants.

“Nice try...”

Rudy looked up just in time to see Cosmo strike him with the blunt handle of his spear, right under his chin. Rudy let out a strangled cry as he was forced to bite his tongue hard. The force flung his head back and he lost his balance. He crashed into the ground, his hands splayed out at the sides.

Before he could get up, Cosmo slammed a foot against his chest, knocking the wind out of Rudy. The teenager shut his eyes tightly, clenched his teeth, and tried to pry Cosmo’s foot off of him.

“You are in over your head, boy...” Mr. Cosmo sneered, pushing down harder on Rudy. “You really should have...thought about this before you decided to duel me alone...”

Rudy hated to admit it, but he was right. Even with a missing eye, a limp, and a few injuries, Cosmo was still able to remain focused enough to fight him, and even gain an edge over him in battle. He wondered if it was because of the black chalk influence, able to help him fight in spite of the disadvantages.

...but then...he still had disadvantages, and if he could exploit them, he could turn the tides in his favor.

His sword was clutched in his right hand. And the side it was on compared to Cosmo...it was on the same side as his blind eye. If Rudy could take advantage of Cosmo’s blind spot, then maybe...

Rudy lifted up the sword and, before Cosmo realized what was going on, struck the blunt side against his leg, the same one he already had a limp with. The force caused Cosmo to stagger back. He clutched his leg and seethed in pain. This gave Rudy an opening and he rushed towards Cosmo. Pulling back his fist, he punched Cosmo on his chest, sending him flying backwards onto his back.

Cosmo was back on his feet in seconds. He rubbed his chest as if examining the damage. “That..is going to leave a mark.” He said, more towards himself than Rudy. He took a step towards Rudy, and grunted in pain. His limp had become a bit more pronounced, and it was clear he was having a hard time ignoring the pain in his damaged left eye.

Rudy realized the black chalk was not healing Cosmo. Why was that? It didn’t make any sense to him. The black chalk healed him, albeit with a hefty price. But why not Cosmo? A part of him was glad it wasn’t healing him, because if it did, he’d never be able to defeat him. But another part was confused and really wanted to know what was going on.

Even though he was in a fight, he had to ask. “Why isn’t the black chalk healing you?”

Mr. Cosmo widened his eye slightly. Then a smile came onto his face. “Because it only heals once.. But don’t worry... I don’t need it to defeat you!”

With that, Cosmo ran towards Rudy. Even with the limp, he was able move pretty quickly. Rudy held up his sword in time to block another attack from the spear. Cosmo hit at him again and again, pushing Rudy further back. Rudy attempted to push forward, but Cosmo’s attacks were more relentless this time.

Finally, Rudy was pushed up against the wall, his back pressed on the cold surface. Cosmo’s spear was pushing hard against his sword, almost pinned against his chest now. With widened eyes and gritted teeth, Rudy stared at Mr. Cosmo. Although Rudy’s gaze held fear, it held a lot more determination, and he attempted to push back.

“You do not have enough experience to defeat me, Tabootie... You wasted all your time making friends with these worthless creatures that you didn’t spend enough time honing your skills...” Mr. Cosmo said in a sneer. He was so close that his breath hit against Rudy each time he spoke. “If you were to join me, I could teach you all I know... You’ll become...unstoppable.”

“If I become unstoppable...while becoming like you...” Rudy said through his gritted teeth. “Then I decline!”

A black flash in Cosmo’s eye. “Then so be it...”

Suddenly, Cosmo took a step back. It happened so fast that Rudy was unable to stop himself from pushing forward. With Cosmo out of the way, he suddenly tripped forward. His feet and arms flailed as he tried to keep his balance. Then he screamed as he felt a sharp pain in his back and realized he had been struck by Cosmo’s spear.

He winced at the burned injury, which hurt even more as blood seeped from the small gash and began to cover it. Rudy turned around just in time to see Cosmo rushing at him again. Rudy brought up his sword, catching the man’s spear against it. This time, he managed to catch the spear in a wedge, between two serrated sections of the spear.

Mustering his strength, Rudy pulled upwards as hard as he could. Cosmo’s spear was pulled away from his hands. It flew up onto the air and struck against a stalactite. The spear got stuck, but the force caused a small piece of the stalactite to fall down. Rudy and Cosmo both moved back as the piece crashed between them, kicking up dust.

Mr. Cosmo was momentarily distracted as most of the dust hit against him. Rudy took this chance and raced around and towards him. Coming at Cosmo’s left side where he couldn’t see him, Rudy slammed his body against Cosmo, pushing the man back.

Cosmo staggered and looked over, turning his head enough so his right eye could see what was happening. He widened his eyes in shock when he saw Rudy coming at him with the sword. The blunt side struck against his arm, forcing him to cry out in pain and tumble back, though still managing to stay on his feet. Cosmo shook his head and got out his black chalk.

Before he could do anything, Rudy grabbed his wrist as he slammed against him again. This time, Rudy managed to pin Cosmo against the wall, using all his strength to keep the man’s hand pinned, unable to draw anything. Rudy knew he was taking a huge risk. If the black chalk touched him again, he could become corrupted. But he knew he had to do this. He had to apprehend Cosmo.

Suddenly, Cosmo slammed his knee into Rudy’s stomach. Reeling back, putting his hand on his stomach, Rudy was unable to stop Cosmo from kicking him in the side, sending him flying across the ground. When Rudy got up, his eyes widened in horror as he saw Mr. Cosmo had drawn his next weapon. A cannon. Jetting all along it were red hot flames. It was like it was crossed over with a flamethrower.

And it was aimed right at him.

“Are you sure you still want to..do this boy?” Mr. Cosmo said as he stood behind the cannon. “I do not wish to kill you because you...still have potential. Why don’t you give up now...before you get really hurt?”

Another attempt to coax him to his side. Rudy only needed to remind himself of the atrocities this man had commited in the past few days for him to decide on the answer.

“No. I won’t give up..”

“...okay then.” Mr. Cosmo shrugged. He lit the fuse and the cannon started spewing flames off the side. A fireball started to form. “Suit yourself.”

Rudy stood his ground, his white magic chalk out in preparation to deal with this oncoming threat. The flames shot out, and he quickly began to draw.

sss

It had been a while since Penny had last drawn a living creature with the magic chalk. Yet despite that, she was able to draw a large, flying bird for them to ride Snap to the hospital on. The bird wasn’t a condor, but instead a large red and white eagle with black tipped tail and wing feathers. It towered over her and Rapsheeba easily.

She had seen that Biclops was injured again. A bloody bitemark on his leg and two on his arm told the whole story. Draow had attacked him and managed to injure him enough that he couldn’t stop the beast from flying into the cave. Rapsheeba had relayed the story on how Cosmo had taken Snap when they were still in the tunnel looking for them, and how Draow had shown up to provide distraction.

Penny was happy to see that Biclops was on his feet again. Though he limped, he was able to get around at least. Not like before where he had temporarily lost a leg.

Biclops hadn’t been only one injured by Draow. Penny had seen Tsere leaning against the cave with a huge wound on his wing. It was still dripping fresh blood. She was about to do something for the pterosaur when Biclops urged her to take Snap to the hospital. The giant offered to treat Tsere’s injuries himself as he had some large medical supplies that would work.

Although Penny would have wanted to help, she knew getting Snap to the hospital was much more urgent. That blow to his head...if it wasn’t going to end up being fatal, it would have caused his condition to become so much worse. She could still hear his cry of pain, the sound of his body sickenly crashing against the rocky ground, all the while Cosmo just staring at him with contempt like he was just a piece of garbage.

As they took off in the air on the back of the large eagle, Penny sometimes looked back at Snap, who was being held in Rapsheeba’s arms. Everytime she saw him, her heart ached, and she had to choke back a sob. It was horrifying that, somehow, Snap managed to look even worse. Everytime she thought she had seen him at his lowest, Mr. Cosmo had done something even worse.

This was not like before, when he had passed out from the fever. Then, he had sometimes moved, either by moving a limp, his head, or even squeezing his eyes shut. He would sometimes be having a nightmare, and he’d cry in his sleep. Although he looked terrible, at least it was evident he was still alive.

But now...he didn’t move at all...except for his chest as he took in shallow breaths. Other than that, he was completely lifeless, laying there as Rapsheeba held onto him. No muscle twitches. No flinches from pain or fear. He was absolutely still. The only way anyone could tell he was still alive was if they either checked him close enough to realize he was still breathing, or check his pulse, which was very weak and thready.

And when they had arrived at the hospital, it wasn’t like they could take him in right away. Cosmo’s attack had damaged a lot more than at first glance, with much of the building out of power. One such room that no longer had power was the emergency room, which was where Snap needed to go.

Penny had done all she could to help. She might not have been as good as Rudy at drawing, but she did know her technology and, though it took some time, she was able to draw a new power source for the hospital to use temporarily while the main power was being fixed.

Dr. Urso had been horrified when Penny told him that Snap had been kicked in the head, right where the device had been lodged into him. The news brought tears to Rapsheeba’s eyes. She looked down at the unconscious zoner and stroked the top of his head getnly.

The lion bear immediately called a group of doctors over. They pushed a stretcher with them. Dr. Urso took Snap and placed him on the stretcher, carefully strapping him in to secure him. The doctors then rushed down the room, taking Snap directly to the emergency room.

When the doctors disappeared, Dr. Urso turned to Penny and Rapsheeba. “We didn’t want to do this, but I am afraid we have no choice.”

The two girls’ eyes widened and prepared for the worst.

“We would rather have waited to take that thing out of his head. His fever might..no...it will complicate things. But...” Dr. Cosmo gritted his teeth sadly. “There is no alternative now. If that device was kicked like you said, then it had gotten deeper into his brain. It needs to be removed as soon as possible...”

“What..what might happen with him having surgery with a high fever...?” Penny asked hesitantly. From the look in the lion bear’s eyes, it was nothing good.

Dr. Urso winced at this question. “Right now, his body is very weak, and the fever is making it much worse. The damaged neurological system isn’t helping either. Having surgery now is a huge risk and he...might not pull through...”

Penny gasped and shook her head in disbelief. “No...”

Rapsheeba was no better. Her eyes were already red from crying.

Dr. Urso closed his eyes. “I am sorry. But either we operate now and take the risk...or we risk losing him anyway. It is best we...try the surgery because...he’ll have a sliver of a chance to survive.”

The lion bear looked at the two girls sympathetically as they cried, horrified by this news. He took a step forward and placed a paw on each of their shoulders in an attempt to comfort them. He put on the best smile that he could, despite the dire situation.

“Don’t worry..we are going to do all we can to save your friend.”

Penny wiped away a tear and nodded her head. She wanted to smile, to show that she appreciated his attempts at consoling her. But as she stared in the direction Snap was taken, she couldn’t stop her chest from clenching, and tried her best to resist the lump in her throat.

Sometimes, reality was a terrible thing.

sss

Rudy hated to use the ice cannon again. The very thought of it sent chills down his spine. He remembered how he had used it to kill the zoners. Cosmo had made a few remarks about that, clearly caring little about his zoners that died, and instead was more impressed that Rudy had gotten the ‘courage’ to slaughter them in the first place. The thought disgusted the teenager.

But Rudy had lost his sword, melted away by the fiery cannon that Cosmo was using. And the best way he felt to fight fire was with its polar opposite. Ice. He swallowed his fear as he drew the ice cannon again. This time, being drawn by him while he wasn’t so possessed, the ice cannon was no longer a spooky red, but instead was a pale slate blue, more reflecting the element of ice more than the original cannon.

Rudy positioned himself behind the ice cannon and began to fire. Cool streams of ice flew into the air, contrasting sharply with the fiery heat of Cosmo’s fire cannon. The two elements clashed into each other, intermixing before cancelling each other out. Again and again they hit each other. Lots of steam rose into the air as a result of this elemental battle.

A few times, Rudy had to duck because he wasn’t always fast enough to stop the fire. Hot flames whipped above his head, almost catching his hair on fire. The heat was intense, and he could feel it almost burning his skin and irritating his back wound.

But even Cosmo had to dodge a few times when Rudy managed to get the ice past the fire and towards him. He could see Cosmo clearly wincing, the chilling effect of the ice effecting him. But like Rudy, he remained unharmed, despite how close he had been to being hit.

Aftera few minutes of this, Rudy realized he couldn’t keep it up forever. Sooner or later, he was going to slip up. His hands were getting tired from all the aiming, and Cosmo was shooting faster and more unpredictably. To try to get an edge, Rudy aimed the cannon in a new direction, which was upwards towards the stalactites above. He shot a stream of cold ice up there, striking the ceiling.

But unfortunately, Cosmo had the very same idea. Fire struck above Rudy as his cannon was firing still. Screaming, Rudy jumped out of the way, shielding his head as chunks of rock fell onto him. A piece of stalactite fell down, crushing his cannon. Cosmo also had to flee his weapon as rock rushed his fire cannon into dust. The two coughed for a few minutes until the dust settled down.

“Very impressive...” Mr. Cosmo said, his right eye brightening a little. “I was right to...take interest in you..”

Rudy snarled at this compliment, which felt more like a jab in the stomach than anything good.

Mr. Cosmo ignored Rudy’s response as he started to walk over to him, limping a little in the process. Although he sometimes acted as if his left eye wasn’t hurting him, it was clear it still was as Cosmo put his hand back over it, wincing and seething in pain. But Cosmo’s fixation on Rudy helped him cope with the pain...most of the time.

“Why don’t you reconsider...? If you agree to join me...I promise I won’t hurt any of your friends anymore.. I won’t touch Snap ever again...” Mr. Cosmo offered, giving a smug smile at the boy. “Think about it... We can end this silly conflict right here and now. I don’t wish to keep fighting you, Rudy. So let’s end it...”

Rudy couldn’t believe that, even after all that has happened, even after the atrocities this monster committed and gotten away with, he still had the audacity to try to coax him onto his side. Rudy snarled and jerked away from the man, his eyes practically oozing with hatred.

“I refuse to have anything to do with you...” Rudy hissed at him. “And I will never join you...”

Mr. Cosmo froze, staring at the boy. The smile slowly faded away, replaced with a blank expression. Rudy started to feel uncomfortable, unsure of what to make of this. He couldn’t tell if Cosmo was going to attack or what. Then, slowly, Mr. Cosmo’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and it was quite clear to Rudy that any and all attempts at negotiation was going to stop right then.

“Then so be it...You have made your choice...” Mr. Cosmo spoke softly as his hand reached into his pocket. “I really didn’t want to do this...but you left me with no choice, Rudy.”

Without warning, Mr. Cosmo lunged forward, gripping Rudy’s left wrist and yanking him forward. Rudy didn’t have time to react when a sharp pain swept through his hand. He looked down and gasped in horror and pain as Mr. Cosmo plunged his knife deep into Rudy’s palm, the sharp tip peaking out from behind his hand. Mr. Cosmo kept in there before yanking it out.

Overwhelmed by pain, Rudy dropped to his knees, his magic chalk slipping out of his hand. He felt his throat being grabbed and he was shoved into the ground, onto his back. He looked up and watched Mr. Cosmo glaring down at him.

“I cannot allow you to interfere with my plans, Rudy... If you refuse my generous..offer, then I have no choice but to get rid of you. I am not going to afford the same mistake I did years ago. I will not let you go..like I had with Wilter...”

Rudy looked up at Cosmo with a mixture of fear and pain. This caused Cosmo to pause for a moment, and Rudy felt unnerved by the smile that soon came.

“You know..” Mr. Cosmo said. “This is just the way Ms. Saffron looked before she died...”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this statement.

Mr. Cosmo raised his knife into the air, positioning it over Rudy’s chest. The boy’s eyes filled with horror as he realized what was about to happen. Mr. Cosmo hissed, “Say hello to Ms. Saffron for me...”

The knife plunged downward. Rudy screamed and turned his head, eyes shut tightly, as he waited for the blow.


	42. A Very Close Call

Rudy kept his eyes closed, waiting for the knife to plunge into him. He waited for the unbearable pain he knew he would have to endure, even if it were just for a few seconds. He had no chance to get away in time. All he could do...was wait.

But nothing happened. There was no pain, no feeling of the knife going into his chest, no nothing. Instead, he felt something entirely different, and completely unexpected.

The pressure he felt from Cosmo holding him down suddenly lifted. Not gradually, but all at once. He felt a large, heavy presence over him for a second, casting a shadow on him. He heard a crash, Cosmo screaming in pain, and the grunting of someone else. It all happened so fast, it took time for Rudy to comprehend what had just happened. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes.

Off to the side, just a few feet away, was Skrawl. Rudy’s eyes widened in shock. Skrawl had...come back? And he just saved his life.. Even though they weren’t connected, even though he had no incentive, even though he could have left him and get back on with his life, Skrawl still came back and saved him..

Skrawl had Mr. Cosmo pinned against the wall. He had used his large body as a weapon, slamming against him hard enough that here were slight cracks in the wall. Skrawl snarled viciously at Mr. Cosmo before he stepped back away from him.

When Cosmo regained his bearings, which didn’t take long, he glared at Skrawl before raising his black chalk. Skrawl swiftly grabbed Cosmo by his collar and threw him aside. Cosmo landed a few feet away, hitting the ground pretty hard.

Skrawl glared at Mr. Cosmo for a second before turning his eyes to Rudy. His eyes were still narrowed, but they softened up as he walked up to Rudy. “I knew you were going to need my help.”

Rudy slowly climbed to his feet. He still couldn’t believe that, out of everyone, it was Skrawl who had saved him. Skrawl, the same zoner who had tangled with him for years. The same zoner who almost had him killed with a robotic double.

“Why...?” Rudy asked.

Skrawl cocked an eyebrow. “Why what? Why did I save you? Because you were at a disadvantage. You should consider yourself lucky I came back. If I had been a second late, you would have...”

“Yes I know but..I mean...” Rudy knew this wasn’t the best place to ask this. But Cosmo hadn’t made a move yet and was just watching silently. Rudy wasn’t sure how to ask this. “I understand the need for cooperation, back when we were connected. But you saved Penny when you didn’t need to...and you saved me now when you didn’t need to... Why? Why the sudden change in heart, Skrawl?”

Skrawl blinked a few times and just stared at Rudy. For a while, there was silence. Rudy could see Skrawl looked uncomfortable and confused talking about it. His eyes were still narrowed, but even a subtle change can alter the entire expression.

Skrawl finally spoke after what felt like several minutes.

“I still think I owe you...for getting me out of that building.”

Rudy stared at him. This was all as payback for helping him earlier? Well that was nice and all, but didn’t Skrawl take it a little far? Helping them out a little was fine and he appreciated it. But this felt like it was more than just simply paying him back. And Skrawl’s tone of voice suggested there was something else underlying it all.

He thought about what he had said to Skrawl before, back in the cage. That was when his strange behavior started to occur. He had thought of the idea before, but he wasn’t sure if it was possible for his words to get through to Skrawl in this way for this long.

Although Skrawl didn’t say it, Rudy had a feeling he knew what this underlying reason was. Skrawl didn’t need to say a word.

It was guilt. Rudy realized, for certain, that his words had invoked a guilty response from Skrawl. That, somehow, he managed to get Skrawl to realize he had been wrong all these years. And now he was trying to make up for it. It did feel weird to Rudy at first, as he was so used to Skrawl trying to fight him. But it did feel nice that Skrawl seemed to, finally, understand.

But he couldn’t keep thinking about that right now. They had more important matters to take care of. He turned his head over to Cosmo, who had been watching the whole time in silent contemplation. He had quickly recovered from Skrawl’s unexpected attack and had his arms folded. His right eye glinted black, and he looked eager to continue their little duel.

“How unexpected... I never thought that our little...endeavor would change the jellybean so much... Perhaps I should have thought things through.” Cosmo mused, tapping his fingers together thoughtfully. Rudy and Skrawl glared at the reporter. Cosmo let out a chuckle. “Not that it will do me any good now... Might as well just learn from my mistakes. Which I always do...as for you...”

Mr. Cosmo sneered as he took a few steps towards the two. The limp was a little less noticeable now. Cosmo managed to hide it a little. “You were a fool to come back here. You should have listened to the boy. But now...you both will share the same fate...”

“You’re outnumbered now.” Skrawl said as-a-matter-of-factly, gesturing with his arm. “What makes you think you still have a chance at winning? And numbers don’t always matter. I faced this boy many times with my Beanie Boys...” He pointed to Rudy. “..and I still lost. So how are you certain you will win?”

Mr. Cosmo didn’t need to answer. A loud screech filled the air, echoing through the walls. The two froze where they stood, startled by the sound. Rudy knew that screech anywhere. He wished he was wrong. But there was absolutely no mistaking that screech.

A large shape flew into the room. The shadow loomed over the pair, causing them to look upwards at the source. They could see the large, unmistakeable form of Draow. The bat wolf flew in behind Mr. Cosmo and landed on the ground behind him. He shook his head, turned so that his teal eyes stared into Rudy’s, and snarled.

Rudy’s eyes widened. This was going to be a problem. Draow had caused problems for him and the others. Not to the same extent as Cosmo, but Draow was obviously still a big player in all of this. He could tell he was undyingly loyal to Cosmo, and now any attempts at hurting Cosmo were going to be hard to pull off. This attack dog monster would lunge at him and tear him to shreds in a second if Cosmo gave the orders. Rudy would have a hard time dodging him.

Mr. Cosmo stroked the top of Draow’s head. “You were saying..?” He asked, smiling towards Skrawl. “What was it you were going to say about me being outnumbered? I don’t see two against one here. I see two against two.”

Skrawl just snarled, refusing to reply. There wouldn’t have been any point to it anyway. Anything he said, it wasn’t like Mr. Cosmo was going to take it seriously or consider it a threat in any way.

Rudy contemplated what he should do. He had wanted to send Skrawl away again. He appreciated the help, but he didn’t want him to get hurt again. Skrawl was already injured from before. Blood was still seeping out of the wounds a little. He could still see Skrawl move in a way that suggests he was in pain. It would be best if he got out of here.

But now...that plan might have to be scrapped. He hadn’t counted on Draow showing up to the fight. There was no way he could face Cosmo alone. And now that Cosmo wants him dead, he could easily sic his pet, or whatever Draow was to him, and kill him easily. His arm still hurt as he remembered Draow’s teeth in it. It would have only taken a little harder of a bite and the arm would have come off...

His best chance would be to allow Skrawl to fight. He could take on Draow. No matter how big and ferocious Draow was, he was ultimately still a chalk creature. And anyone made of chalk cannot use magic chalk. So Draow would have to rely on his own physical prowess and endurance, which he seemed to have an endless amount of. Skrawl would need to rely on the same stuff too, but at least that would make them even.

And if Skrawl came all the way back just to help him, which it seemed like that was exactly what he was doing, he might as well let him stay and fight. Draow had caused him a lot of ear pain with his glass scratching, so he guessed Skrawl would want revenge for that.

Rudy was cut from his thoughts when Mr. Cosmo spoke. And he felt a sickening feeling when he heard what the man had to say.

“I see your little..time with Wilter had been..eventful.” Mr. Cosmo said, continuing to stroke the top of Draow’s furry head. What looked like a sneer spread across the jowls of the beast. “Yes...I don’t have to worry about him interfering this time... I had made a mistake in letting him go after our first encounter years ago. And he came back and had me dragged out of this world, my mind wiped... But that won’t happen this time.”

Rudy took a step back. “Mr. Wilter...? What did you do to Mr. Wilter?!”

Draow flicked his ears a couple times. He tilted his head to the side. His pupils shrank slightly, giving his already menacing expression more of a threatening impact. “I have disabled him for the time being.”

Rudy jolted back, almost tripping over himself. Skrawl was just as shocked as he was. Though he didn’t move back, his fingers were spread apart in surprise.

Draow could...talk? After all this time, he could talk? Rudy let the realization sink in, a heavy feeling in his chest. That would explain the incident in the hallway, with him using the glass to get closer. Draow really was intelligent. He really wasn’t just a large dumb beast Cosmo drew, but was fully aware of his actions, could understand everything being said, and was enjoying all of this just as much as Cosmo.

Knowing that Draow was sentient did change things. At first, he had thought that maybe Skrawl had some kind of advantage. He thought Skrawl was smarter than Draow. But with this confirmation of Draow being intelligent, he wasn’t so sure if that was the case anymore. Draow had decieved them all, except Cosmo, ever since they first met. He made them all think he was just a dumb animal so they would underestimate him. He had been a great actor, a master of deceit. And that takes a high level of intellect.

Rudy’s thoughts went back to Mr. Wilter. What had Draow meant when he ‘disabled’ him? He bit his lip as horrible thoughts ran through his mind. Were his legs ripped off? Was his stomach cut open? Was he beaten, laying in a pulp on the ground? Was he in trouble? Did he need to go to the hospital?

He didn’t have much time to think about this. Draow moved out from behind Cosmo. He opened up his wings, showing off his large wingspan, his hooked wing claws practically glinting in the black light all around them. Mr. Cosmo held up his black chalk, staring at it with intent.

“That is enough...chat.” Mr. Cosmo winced in pain again. He covered his eye and seethed in agony for a few seconds.

Draow’s ears pricked up and he looked down at Cosmo. “Who did that to you?”

“The little blue pest. But I already took care of him...” Mr. Cosmo smiled evilly through his pain. “After what I did to him, it will be..a miracle for him to survive...”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror. Instantly, images of Snap’s unconscious form entered his mind. That couldn’t be the last time he’ll see him alive. It just couldn’t. Snap had to be okay. He just had to... Rudy shook his head slowly left to right in disbelief. The pain he was feeling in his hand went away as his mind became preoccupied with Snap.

He had promised Snap he wouldn’t let Cosmo hurt him again. And he failed to live up to that promise. He had failed Snap when he needed him the most. And now...now he might not even make it. Snap may have paid the ultimate price in this battle to save ChalkZone. And Wilter might suffer the same fate...

And it was all because of Mr. Cosmo...

“You...monster!”

Skrawl looked shocked when Rudy grabbed the magic chalk from the ground and rushed towards Mr. Cosmo. Rudy’s eyes were intense, filled with rage. Draow moved in to interfere, but Skrawl slammed into him, pushing him back before he could do anything.

Mr. Cosmo’s remaining eye was widened. It was mostly shock, but Rudy saw a tinge of fear in it. He very briefly wondered if he was reminded of Mr. Wilter, how he had managed to defeat him years ago. Rudy’s thoughts became numb after that, filled with nothing but rage, as he pushed against Mr. Cosmo. He had mustered up as much strength as he could into that push.

Mr. Cosmo stumbled back, waving and flailing his arms in an attempt to keep his balance. Before he could right himself, Rudy got in close and kicked at his leg, tripping it and causing him to fall into the ground. Rudy put a foot on his chest and held him down. Even though he would not have as much luck seeing he was a teenager and he was an adult, he didn’t care.

Rudy pointed his magic chalk towards Mr. Cosmo. “If Snap dies...you are going to pay...”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes. “And what exactly are you going to do, kid? Kill me?” Rudy’s eyes widened slightly. Mr. Cosmo’s smile spread across his face. “Because isn’t that what you threatened to do before? You said you were going to kill me if I hurt Snap. Is that what you are going to do here? Because if you kill me...you will be like me...”

With wide eyes, Rudy’s body started to tremble. The horrific realization of what Mr. Cosmo said hit home to him. It wasn’t the threat of being like Cosmo alone that did it. But the idea of taking a human life. Even though he hated Cosmo. No...he couldn’t kill him. No, he would defeat him, and he would be arrested. He will not stoop to this man’s level.

Rudy’s distraction in his thoughts bought Mr. Cosmo the time he needed. He pulled back one of his legs and kicked Rudy in the stomach. Rudy cried out in pain and stumbled backwards. Mr. Cosmo got back onto his feet.

With a twisted smile on his face, Mr. Cosmo said, “You don’t have it in you...do you...? You’ll always be weak... Like Ms. Saffron and Snap. Ms. Saffron died because of it...Snap will soon die because of it...Today, you will die because of it.”

Rudy snarled in response. “You’re wrong!”

“Am I..?” Mr. Cosmo chuckled. “Okay...prove it to me.”

sss

Penny winced as she heard the sound of drilling coming from the emergency room. She knew that they had started to operate on Snap. They had no idea how long it was going to take. The procedure was very delicate and, even if Snap were healthy, it came with a lot of risks. One slip up, and he could die.

It was unsettling listening to the drill as it cut into Snap’s head to remove the device. It was hard to believe that this horrid sound belonged to the one thing that could save Snap’s life...or end it if someone made even the tiniest slip. How cruel life can be...

Rapsheeba sat down next to her. She hadn’t said much of a word. Occassionally, she’d look over at the double doors, as if expecting Snap to come through any second. She sometimes shuddered at the sound of the drill. And a few times, she would hear Rapsheeba blow her nose, the tears causing her nose to become runny.

Penny understood why Rapsheeba was so upset. Of the zoners, she was one of the closest to Snap. She cared a great deal about him and the two spent a lot of time together, especially recently. At least up until the terrible incidents after Snap’s birthday that is...

Penny couldn’t believe the cruel, twist irony of this happening not long after Snap’s birthday. Birthdays were meant to be enjoyed, to be fun and exciting. And that’s what Snap’s party had been. It felt like just yesterday they were at the mansion, dancing and having a great time. Snap had been so happy back then...

She winced as she realized she thought that is if had been years ago. Indeed, that’s exactly what it felt like. Everything that’s been happening felt like it was going on for a long time. Yet she knew, it had only been a few days, and that frightened her. It was scary that so much horror could happen in just a short amount of time.

And now, instead of being able to enjoy himself like he had at his birthday bash, Snap was laying what might become his deathbed...

Suddenly Penny heard an alarm go off from the operating room. She and Rapsheeba swiveled their heads. They could see the flashing red light above the door that led to the emergency room. Then, a second later, desperate cries from the doctors.

“His heart has stopped! He’s going into cardiac arrest!”

Penny and Rapsheeba gasped in horror. Their bodies froze and it felt like ice was filling their veins. There was no way they misheard that. It was as crystal clear as the sign on the door. And there was no way they could have misheard what was said next.

“We’re losing him! Hurry!”

Penny felt the world around her become blurry. She couldn’t register Rapsheeba’s sobbing. She barely could tell she herself was crying. Her eyes remained glued on the door, her body shaking terribly.

Snap..no...he couldn’t...no...

Penny shook her head slowly, in absolute denial. It couldn’t be true. No..not after all they had done to get him back, he couldn’t be snatched from them again like this. This couldn’t be the end. No..it just could not...

Slowly, Penny regained her sense of reality when Dr. Urso walked through the double doors. She felt a lump in her throat when she saw him with his ears folded down, his head low. Whatever he was about to say, it wasn’t going to be good news. No...it can’t be..no...

Dr. Urso stopped in front of Penny and Rapsheeba. He had a hard time looking at them in the eyes. It looked like it took all his might to make himself look at them to deliver whatever bad news he had to give.

“Things aren’t looking good. There were..complications in surgery, just like I feared..” Dr. Urso said in a low, sympathetic and regretful voice. “His heart stopped beating during the surgery. We have managed to get his heart going again, but we don’t know how effective it will be next time. Your friend is still alive...but for how long.. That’s up to chance now. I’m sorry...”

Although Penny was relieved that Snap was still alive, the news did little to comfort her. Snap still had a strong chance of dying. Overwhelmed with emotion, she turned and pulled Rapsheeba into a hug. His ears still lowered, Dr. Urso turned and walked away, leaving the two friends to grieve.


	43. The Only One At Fault

Rudy seethed at Mr. Cosmo. The two of them stood a few feet apart. They didn’t pay attention to the fight that was going on between Skrawl and Draow. As those two chalk beings fought against each other, becoming a blur of pastel colors, the two creators stared each other down, neither making a move just yet.

Mr. Cosmo’s words boiled Rudy’s blood. It was almost like the man had no comprehension of him possibly losing this fight. Even though he had seen just how capable Rudy was, even though Rudy had, a few times, managed to get the upperhand, Mr. Cosmo still looked confident that he was going to win. The same smug smile was on his face, the same one he had used on Rudy several times before. Even his posture was practically oozing in his ego and arrogance.

But that’s not what angered Rudy. No, it was what Mr. Cosmo had said specifically. He was used to the man saying things that indicated he felt he was going to win. And, although not happy with what Mr. Cosmo said about him, it was what he said about Saffron and Snap that made him cross the line.

To call them both weak... That was just wrong.

Saffron had more courage than this guy. She had been the one to lead the controlled zoners away. That alone is worthy of merit. She had put herself in danger so they could get out. And she had turned her back on Cosmo, despite knowing more of what he was capable of than most of them. She knew she was landing herself in hot water, yet she still swallowed her fear and did the right thing. If it weren’t for her, they might not have ever gotten out of that building.

And Snap...he was never weak. The only reason why he hasn’t been able to help him much was because of Mr. Cosmo’s horrific treatment of him. Had Snap never been captured, he would have been by Rudy’s side, helping him all the way. He would not have shown nearly as much fear to Cosmo, if any, and he would be willing to do what it takes to stop Cosmo, even if it meant putting himself in harm’s way.

Now Ms. Saffron was dead...slaughtered in cold blood by this ruthless man. And he didn’t stop there. Just be a cruel bastard, he had shown them the body, threw her to them like it was nothing. She had paid the ultimate price for trying to make up for what she did. And that, Rudy felt was completely unfair. She hadn’t done anything to deserve what she got. She could have made something better of her life. Now she won’t get that chance...and it was because of Cosmo.

Snap was at the hospital, and he had no idea what his condition is currently. He doesn’t know if Snap will survive any surgery. He doesn’t know if, the next time he will see him, he’ll still be alive. For all he knew, Snap could be dead right now. And even if he did survive, would he recover? So much damage had been done to him, made even worse when he was kicked in the head... Snap could suffer permanent damage. He could wind up with a fate worse than death. And it was all because of Cosmo...

And Mr. Wilter....what had happened to him? Draow didn’t say he killed him, but ‘disabled’ didn’t sound much better. He had no idea where he could be. He hoped that Biclops was okay and was in the cave. If he found Mr. Wilter, he could get him to safety.

As much as Rudy wanted to help Mr. Wilter, he knew that he couldn’t move from this room yet. Mr. Cosmo was still a threat. If he dared to leave, Skrawl would be in danger. Cosmo would escape and continue his reign of terror. He would hurt so many other zoners, just like how he had hurt Snap... He needed to be stopped. He needed to be dealt with now.

Rudy glowered hatefully at the man who had been the cause of all this since day one. The rage boiled through his body, making him forget about any pain he was feeling. Even as he clenched his left fist, he didn’t feel the pain, or the blood dripping from the wound. He felt some strength increasing in his body, filling him up with adrenaline.

Mr. Cosmo...he was going to pay for all this. He was going to pay...dearly...

He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard a crash behind him. He turned his head and looked over with one eye. He could see Draow on the ground, Skrawl on top of him. Two of the jellybean’s legs were wrapped firmly around the beast’s neck, attemping to use his weight to hold him down. His remaining limb was at Draow’s head. He could see his thin claws wrapped around his jaws, holding it shut, as he pushed him into the ground.

Rudy felt a bit relieved that he won’t have to deal with Draow, at least for the time being. He hoped that Skrawl will be able to keep it up. He would have some luck with holding Draow down, given his pretty large size. And although Skrawl had only three limbs, that didn’t really matter as he knew how to use his three limbs to his advantage. He was so good with them, it was hard to tell he was even missing any.

Suddenly, a pair of fingers wrapped around his throat. Rudy realized, too late, Cosmo had finally decided to stop stalling time and had rushed at him while he had been distracted. In a single shove, he was slammed against the wall. Rudy cried out in pain as he felt his back wound being pressed up so hard against the rocky surface, irritating it.

Rudy opened one eye and saw Cosmo sneering at him, his eyes big with demented glee. It was scary to Rudy that, after all this time of being relatively calm, some of that persona was breaking down here as Cosmo was getting more and more determined to get rid of him and the others. His insane grin sent chills down his spine. The snickering caused his stomach to wrench in knots.

Then, without warning, he felt a sharp pain in his left hand. He cried out, tears of agony streaming down his face. He forced himself to turn his head and he saw that Mr. Cosmo had balled one of his hands into a fist and struck right on his wound, the knuckles crashing up against it. He could see the blood oozing out, covering Mr. Cosmo’s hand.

Then he did something that would horrify and haunt Rudy for a long time. Cosmo pulled his fist back and looked at the blood now staining his hand. Slowly, he licked the blood off his hands. Rudy watched in absolute horror as Mr. Cosmo did this. His face paled quickly at the sight of Cosmo tasting his blood. His heart started to pound as Mr. Cosmo turned back to him and smiled.

“You taste good...” Mr. Cosmo said, in a voice so much creepier than he had ever used before. “You might try to hide it...but the fear runs through your blood so thickly...”

Rudy’s body started to tremble. “You...you...”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled darkly. “Oh don’t worry. I don’t plan on eating you...I’m not that crazy.” He grinned. “But I do still enjoy the taste of blood...”

Rudy trembled, then shook his head. He shouldn’t let Mr. Cosmo get to him. He was only doing this to freak him out. Yeah, that was the big reason. He wanted to unnerve the boy so he could get an attack in, so he could get an edge over the boy. Well, Rudy was not going to allow him that opportunity. He would not let him get the better of him.

Turning the fear inside of him into anger and disgust, Rudy pushed back against the man. He gripped his wrist and squeezed tightly. He attempted to pry the hand off. Mr. Cosmo’s smile vanished and he glared at the boy, as if he weren’t expecting him to fight back so easily. The two pushed against each other for dominance. Despite being smaller, Rudy managed to give Cosmo a run for his money.

Mustering up as much strength as he could, Rudy pushed hard into Mr. Cosmo. The man released him at least and tumbled backwards. He managed to stay on his feet. He narrowed his eyes at Rudy and raised his black chalk. He didn’t draw anything yet. Instead he was just holding the black chalk in a menacing way. The black glow danced around the chalk and over part of Cosmo’s hand, making it all seem so foreboding.

This would have disturbed Rudy not so long ago, but now he was so determined to beat Cosmo, it no longer fazed him. Gritting his teeth in anger, he held out his white chalk, prepared to draw a defense for whatever Cosmo had to throw at him.

“I don’t know why you continue to fight...” Mr. Cosmo said, wielding his black chalk. “You are outmatched, boy... You don’t have the same level of knowledge about creation as I do... I can whip up anything twice as competent as you can...If that fails, I can just draw a new one.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes at Cosmo. “You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not just about knowledge...it’s about skill too. You may be able to draw things more advanced than me or Penny can ever hope to imagine... But that doesn’t mean you can defeat us. Your horrible treatment of zoners is where your downfall lies, Cosmo. You have the loyalty of only one zoner, Draow, and he isn’t able to help you now. Whereas I have Skrawl, who is willing to help me defeat you.”

Rudy took a step towards Cosmo. The man hunched his back in a defensive stance, taking a small step back. Rudy realized that, though he tried to hide it, Cosmo was starting to fear him, probably out of surprise at how well he was holding up. He just had his hand injured further and watched him lick the blood off, and yet he was still determined to fight him. Cosmo apparently hadn’t been expecting that kind of will from a teenager.

But he wasn’t naive. He knew he couldn’t bargain with Mr. Cosmo. He couldn’t leave. He knew Cosmo was still going to fight him. And, until he was defeated, he had to keep fighting back. He was not going to allow Cosmo any openings to get at him.

“And as for you,” Rudy said. “You don’t have anyone to help you right now. If you had treated the zoners better, you could have won some loyalty outside of Draow. And while he is a terrifying beast...he is still just one zoner. And I see that, without him, you’re at a great disadvantage. So perhaps...” Rudy narrowed his eyes as his magic chalk sparkled. “..it is you who should be surrendering.”

Mr. Cosmo widened his eye briefly, surprised that Rudy would suggest such a thing. But the glare came back and he gritted his teeth slightly. “I will do no such thing...”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He had expected this response from him. He knew Cosmo would not be able to resist the urge to keep fighting him. He knew that he would never be willing to admit that he had been wrong the whole time. He would just keep pushing back and do whatever it takes to get an edge.

“I understand that you won’t surrender.” Rudy said. When he took another step, he saw Cosmo had taken yet another step back. His confidence had finally started to wane a little. And Rudy could use that to his advantage. “I fully expected it...which is I why I plan on finishing this fight.” Rudy held up his magic chalk, looking at it sparkle for a second before turning his gaze back to Cosmo. “So come on. Let us continue.”

Mr. Cosmo just stood there for several seconds. He stared at the boy, never moving his gaze from him. He tightened his grip on his black chalk, wincing a little as if he felt the sharpness of the chalk. After about a minute passed, he took a step towards Rudy, his eyes narrowed. It was clear that he was not about to surrender to a teenager.

And again, Rudy expected this. Mr. Cosmo had so much determination to win. It would take a lot to make him stop fighting. And he wouldn’t be surprised if Cosmo continued to fight until the very end, until he could no longer move. Rudy was fully prepared for this, and once Cosmo was finally disabled, unable to continue the battle, he would take him into the real world where he will be tried and sent to jail. From there, he’ll never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

“I still find it hard to believe that you, one person, could cause so much trouble.” Rudy said. He stared at his injured hand, the blood having dried up a little by now. He looked back at Mr. Cosmo. “Well not anymore...that all ends here. Right now.”

Slowly, a twisted smile spread across Mr. Cosmo’s face. Rudy flinched and took one step back. It seemed some of Cosmo’s confidence came back.

“You are something, child... You really think you can beat me...? I had fought many artists in the past. Wilter was not the first... He did manage to defeat me, but only he... What makes you think you can fulfill what he pulled off...?” Mr. Cosmo jeered, snickering. “And besides...do you really think that I’m....the only one who caused all this to happen?”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this. His scowl slowly vanished.

“Come now, even you can’t be that stupid. You had opportunities to..prevent this. You could have used your brain, boy...and avoided all my traps. You could have spared Snap his fate...” Mr. Cosmo said darkly, his voice raising in pitch slightly as he continued. “You could have fulfilled your promise with Snap and saved him from me...and you failed to do that...”

At this, Rudy’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Cosmo did not look fazed.

“Both Snap and Ms. Saffron could have stopped their fates too... If Ms. Saffron hadn’t shown weakness, if she had just followed my lead like she was supposed to...she’d still be alive. She put herself in danger... She deserved what she got...And as for Snap...The little runt should have thought twice before he attacked me... And now, because of his stupidity, he will die... He has earned that fate.”

Rudy let out a low growl and clenched his right hand into a fist. He squeezed so hard, he thought he was going to snap the magic chalk into two pieces. He wouldn’t have noticed if he had. His eyes, almost glowing in the dark light of the room, stared straight into Cosmo.

Mr. Cosmo grinned evilly. “Face it, Tabootie...you all had your chance at preventing all of this. You think I am the only one to blame? No...you are all to blame... And to think, this all started when I tricked you into opening a portal in that classroom...” Seen the look in Rudy’s eyes, Cosmo went on, “If you hadn’t done that....I wouldn’t have gotten access to ChalkZone...I wouldn’t have been able to get the remainder of my memories back...and I wouldn’t have been able to capture so many zoners.” His eyes glinted. “So you could say....you caused all of this... It is your fault this happened...”

Rudy scowled at this. The blame game...it would have worked on him a while ago. He had, for sometime, blamed himself at least partially for what had happened. He felt he should have figured things out sooner, that he could have done more to prevent all this from happening. If he had worked harder, he might have found out Cosmo sooner and been able to stop him before his plans went too far.

But now, as he thought about things more clearly, as he re-examined the evidence in his head, he realized one thing. He was not the one to be blamed. He didn’t cause all of this happen. He wasn’t the one who orchestrated this invasion of ChalkZone, or what happened to Snap. Neither Ms. Saffron nor Snap asked for what happened to them, nor was it their faults.

No, Rudy realized, as rage rose up inside of him, there was only one person who was truly at fault. And that person was standing right in front of him. He was not going to allow himself to be driven into guilt...No, he would not allow that. Cosmo was not going to toy with his mind, or with anyone else, anymore.

"Shut up!" Rudy cried.

That was the only warning Cosmo had before Rudy suddenly let out a shout of anger. It was loud enough that both Skrawl and Draow stopped fighting. They turned their heads and watched what was going on.

Rudy bolted towards Cosmo, his eyes burning with absolute rage. Cosmo’s remaining eye filled with fear in an instant. He started to move backwards, desperately drawing a weapon to try to combat against the enraged Rudy. He drew a long katana and wielded it in front of him defensively. Rudy responded by drawing his own katana and, when he got close enough, swung it at Cosmo.

For a while, the two fought with the katanas, the metal clanging against each other. But Rudy’s rage made the fight much shorter. He managed to get Cosmo in his blind spot. The blunt side of his katana struck against the side of Cosmo’s face, causing him to stumble to the side. Rudy managed to knock his katana, as well as his black chalk, clean out of his hands. Then he rammed the man against the wall, keeping him pinned there with his adrenaline-enhanced muscles.

Mr. Cosmo glared at the boy and struggled only briefly. He stopped when Rudy slammed the katana just inches away from his face, sticking it into the rocky wall. He stared in shock at the katana before turning his gaze to the boy. Horror and fear replaced his anger and determination just seconds ago.

“How stupid do you think I am, Mr. Cosmo?! All your lies...why should I believe anything you say?! You’re wrong about everything you’ve said! This isn’t my fault! It isn’t Snap’s fault! And while I’m at it, it’s not Ms. Saffron’s fault! It’s all you! It’s always been you! You are the one who decided to invade ChalkZone and kidnap zoners! You are the one who put me and others through so much pain! You are the one who killed Ms. Saffron for no good reason, and you are the one who tortured my best friend! And now he is laying on his deathbed!”

Mr. Cosmo remained frozen. He didn’t move or speak. He just stared at the boy, his right eye growing a little bigger as Rudy shouted each word at him.

Rudy knocked Mr. Cosmo into the ground. He grabbed his shirt collar and pulled on it tightly. Mr. Cosmo didn’t try fighting back. He turned his eyed to the side, starting up at Rudy with his right eye, his teeth clenched in fear.

“And it is all...because...of you!” Rudy snarled as he put his face close to Cosmo’s. The man flinched in response, but didn’t say anything. It was clear he was uncomfortable with having to deal with the wrath of a teenager he had clearly underestimated. “You are the only one at fault here! So don’t you ever...ever trash talk my friends again!”

Mr. Cosmo was not the only one shocked by Rudy’s outburst. Both Draow and Skrawl were surprised as well. Skrawl’s eyes were widened, his mouth partially open. Draow’s pupils were a tad smaller and his ears were pricked straight up. Neither of them moved, as if they had no idea what to do or say to this situation.

Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy in dread for several seconds, before he forced himself to glare. “What are you waiting for? Finish me...”

Rudy’s eyes widened slightly at this. “No..I will not. I am not like you, Mr. Cosmo.” With that, Rudy released the man and took a few steps back. “Defeating you is good enough. I do not need to finish the job.”

Mr. Cosmo rose to his feet. He furrowed his brow further, his right eye glinting black. If he was still afraid, he was hiding it quite well. “That is...a shame...”

Without warning, Mr. Cosmo rushed at Rudy at lightning speed. Rudy was shocked by this and found himself moving back. Before he could react, Mr. Cosmo grabbed his arm and plunged his knife into Rudy’s side.

Rudy cried out in agony as the knife cut deep into him. Cosmo twisted the knife around inside of him, causing more damage, before he pulled it out. Blood flowed from the wound like a runny faucet. Rudy clutched his side, eyes shut in pain, as he fell to his knees.

“Rudy! No!”

He heard Skrawl shout at him in horror, but he barely paid attention to it. His side was practically on fire and he found it hard to stand back up.

Rudy slowly looked up and saw Mr. Cosmo advancing towards him with his knife. Trying his best to ignore his pain, Rudy stood back up. He wobbled a little, but managed to stay up. He stared at Cosmo as tears of pain streamed down his face.

“You botched up your chance, Tabootie..and now you are going to pay for it...”

With that, Mr. Cosmo rushed towards Rudy, brandishing his knife. Rudy clenched his teeth, his eyes halfway shut in pain. He brought up his magic chalk, hoping that he could draw something fast enough to stop the man.

sss

Penny and Rapsheeba waited in the eerily quiet waiting room for what felt like hours. Penny knew it hadn’t been that long, but it certainly felt like it. Everytime she heard the drill going, she shuddered. And to add to her already aching nerves, at least two more times, the alarm had gone off, either from Snap’s heart not beating anymore or his breathing stopped. And each time, it took a lot of effort to revive him.

Penny wished there was something she could do to help. She wished that she knew of a way to save Snap, a way that would not run him into any risks. Yet she knew this was impossible. Snap was in a grave situation and the only way to save him was by risky surgery. And she could do nothing to help. She could hope all she wanted to, but hope was not going to ensure her friend’s safety.

As much as she and Rapsheeba didn’t want to sit around and do nothing, they both knew, and acknowledged, that they had to trust the doctors. Snap’s life hung in their hands now. If anyone can save him, if anyone can keep him from dying, it was these doctors. They were his only hope. And Penny knew that, if the doctors failed, she would never see Snap alive again...

The thought hung heavily on her mind, and she couldn’t hold back her tears. Ms. Saffron’s death had effected her deeply, even though she hadn’t known the woman long. She was horrified when she saw her dead body, especially knowing that, just a short time ago, she had been fine. But the idea of losing Snap, someone whom she had known for years... She didn’t think she could handle it. She didn’t want to see anyone else die. She didn’t want to have to glance at another poor soul who lost their life to the horrors that Mr. Cosmo had unleasehd. It just...it just wasn’t fair...

“Hey Penny...look...” Rapsheeba said through her cries. Penny looked at her. Rapsheeba wiped away her tears and pointed her finger towards the double doors.

Penny saw that Dr. Urso was coming out again. This time, his expression wasn’t as grim, but it still looked like it held some bad news. She bit her lip and prepared for the worse as he walked up to them, his thick fingers interlocking together.

“How is he?” Rapsheeba asked, not caring if she sounded too demanding.

Dr. Urso paused for a moment. Penny didn’t like this. The lion bear pulled out a clipboard and flipped through the papers, as if looking for something. Penny felt her heart race faster as each silent second went by. Although Dr. Urso replied seconds later, to Penny and Rapsheeba, it felt like years.

Once Dr. Urso found the paper he wanted, he turned his head to the two girls.

“I am happy to report that your friend has pulled through. The surgery was ultimately a success and we have that thing out of his head. We have done what we can to shield the hole in his head that it left behind. He is being put into a recovery room at this very moment.” Mr. Urso said with a small smile on his muzzle.

This news took a few seconds for Penny to let sink in. She had been expecting more bad news. She was not expecting this. A strong sense of elation overwhelmed her. She stifled a scream of joy and she wrapped her arms around Rapsheeba.

“However...”

Penny and Rapsheeba’s eyes widened at that. There was more?

“Due to the damage done to his neurological system, we are not certain if he will fully recover. He might regain some feeling back, but as for his legs...” Dr. Urso’s ears lowered. “They might be permanently damaged.”

Penny shook her head in disbelief. “No...”

“You can’t fix them?” Rapsheeba said, fresh tears returning to her eyes.

Dr. Urso shook his head. “I’m afraid not. We can just hope that a miracle happens and he gets use of them back. But the damage is so severe...I’m not sure. Please don’t mistake this as him having no chance at full recovery...I just want you to prepare for the worst.”

“I understand...” Penny said solemnly.

Dr. Urso said, “And we aren’t sure when he will wake up... The blow he got to his head caused further brain damage. Right now, he is in a comatose state.”

This sent chills down Penny’s spine. Any happiness she felt seconds ago had been overwhelmed by fear and sorrow again. Rapsheeba’s hands were over her mouth, her eyes wide in shock and horror.

“You may go visit him, if you wish.” Dr. Urso said sympathetically. “Maybe being there with him, will help him recover faster. I do wish the best for you all, and I am sorry we couldn’t do more to help him.”

Penny got up from her seat. She gestured for Rapsheeba to come with her. The two walked down the hallway, being led by Dr. Urso. As they walked, Penny felt her heart wrench tightly. She didn’t want to believe that Snap could be like this for the rest of his life.

No..he would recover... He was Snap. He would bounce back...wouldn’t he...?


	44. When Danger Finally Passes

Rudy watched as Mr. Cosmo was coming right him with the knife. The same knife he had threatened Snap with. The same one that he was certain was used to kill Ms. Saffron. And now Cosmo was going to use it on him, to kill him in cold blood.

He didn’t have much time to draw up a defense. The distance between him and the crazed man was getting smaller by the second. Though he was moving backwards, even if he broke into a run, the pain in his side would make it hard to run too fast. He needed to draw something, and he needed to draw it now.

But what could he draw? His mind was numb. He couldn’t think of what to draw for this situation. The pain was making it hard for him to concentrate. And Mr. Cosmo was getting ever closer... And there was no way he could rely on Skrawl’s help this time. He was distracted by Draow. The bat wolf attacked Skrawl just seconds ago and he had the jellybean pinned on the ground. Rudy was on his own with this one.

As he watched Mr. Cosmo rush at him with a knife, he started to wonder what would happen if he didn’t make it through this. Would Penny be able to stop Cosmo? Or would she fall victim to him too? He shuddered at the idea. And to pour salt in the wound, he knew if he died here, ChalkZone would be in grave danger. No, he couldn’t die here. Not yet. He had to stand up and fight. He didn’t know how, but he had to at least try.

Rudy prepared to draw, ignoring the pain the best he could. Cosmo was closing in on him now. He was just a few feet away. Rudy drew his hand back, prepared to draw whatever he needed to defend himself. His eyes narrowed in determination.

Suddenly, something large and pale yellow struck out of nowhere. It struck against Mr. Cosmo. The man let out a cry, mostly of surprise, as the large yellow...whatever it was, struck him away. He crashed into the ground in a loud and painful thud. He groaned in pain and pushed himself up with his arms. He and Rudy both looked over at what had just happened. And both were shocked at just who it was standing there. Neither of them were expecting this.

There, standing not far from them, was Biclops. He looked a little beat up, likely from struggling with Draow. But he was otherwise fine. His normally gentle demeanor was replaced with what looked like a mixture of fear and hatred. His two eyes were fixated firmly on Mr. Cosmo, narrowed dangerously. His teeth were bared and he looked like he was two seconds away from pummeling Mr. Cosmo.

“Biclops!” Rudy cried, both happy and surprised to see the giant. “How did you...?”

“I heard screams coming from over here.” Biclops explained, not taking his eyes off of Mr. Cosmo. “I had a feeling you were in trouble. So I came to help!”

Rudy had never been so happy to see the giant. He towered easily over Mr. Cosmo. His large, imposing size would be quite a deterrent for Cosmo. Without the black chalk, or any magic chalk, Mr. Cosmo stood no chance against the towering behemoth. He watched as the man took a few steps away from Biclops. Though there was no expression of fear on his face. Instead, it was a bit surprise, and a bit of disgust.

Rudy wondered what Biclops was feeling right now. He had been so afraid of Cosmo before. He could only imagine what the man had put the giant through. He had been there to witness Cosmo’s wrath years ago. He had seen all that pain and suffering caused by his creator in particular. He may have suffered some stigma from other zoners for this connection. Yet, despite that, Biclops had still taken responsibility for what his creator did and kept the red chalk hidden in the caves.

Confronting Mr. Cosmo, after all this time, must have taken Biclops guts. He had seen, first hand, the kind of monster this person was. He knew that, very easily, Mr. Cosmo could make his life miserable again. He could grab some black chalk and draw something lethal and just outright kill Biclops. No matter how large he is, Biclops would still find it hard to fight a creator. Especially a mean-spirited one like Cosmo.

It wouldn’t be like fighting himself. Rudy had never been a particularly violent person. And even when Biclops, or Cyclops as he was called at the time, tried to capture him, Rudy had never been violent to him. And that was a good thing, because he did manage to beat Biclops. But instead of doing anything nasty to him, even though he had the opportunity, he had given Biclops an extra eye, which was what helped convince Biclops to trust him. Though his good deeds around ChalkZone helped too.

But against Cosmo...it was a whole different ballpark. Cosmo wouldn’t stop at just stopping Biclops in his tracks. He would go as far as make sure Biclops never walks again. He would create a deadly weapon and use it against the giant. Or he could use the water tanks...the ones that were still in the room. No holes were punctured thank goodness, but they were still there, by the zoners that he...no...the black chalk had killed. If Cosmo wanted to, he could take their water weapons and use them against Biclops.

Mr. Cosmo glared up at Biclops, his expression contorted into anger. Then it slightly softened up into amusement. “Hello Biclops... I wasn’t expecting to...see you.”

Biclops growled. “You are forbidden from entering here! Leave now!” He pointed a large finger towards an exit.

“Oh...? And what are you going to do about it...?” Mr. Cosmo asked. In response, Biclops raised a large fist. This just caused Mr. Cosmo to chuckle. He shook his head slowly from left to right. “Oh Biclops...How naive you are... Do you remember what happened the last time you tried to stand up to me?”

At this, Biclops put a hand near one of his eyes and he flinched. Rudy got the message right away. Cosmo had hurt Biclops years ago. What he done? Blinded the giant? That would explain Biclops’s nightmare, when they were dealing with the Quicksand Man.

Biclops, though unnerved by what Cosmo said, still stood his ground. “I’m not going to make the same mistake I did in the past.” He took a step towards Cosmo, his eyes narrowed in determination. “I am not going to let you hurt anyone else!”

Mr. Cosmo just chuckled at this. “You...will do no such thing...”

Rudy and Biclops glared at the man with equal hate. But Mr. Cosmo ignored it all. He was still backing away, but the same, calm smile he used before, the one Rudy was so used to, was back. Either he was regaining some confidence, or he was hiding behind a mask. And if he was hiding, he was doing it very well.

The two watched as Mr. Cosmo kept moving back, then slowly he stopped. He stared at them, his eyes focused mostly on Biclops. The two remained silent. Neither looked away, as if they were afraid the other would shoot laser beams if they dared look in the other direction. Rudy would practically feel their mutual dislike of each other rising off their bodies.

The hatred Rudy felt between these two kind of reminded him of his relationship with Crainiac 4. That zoner did not like him very much, despite being his creator. It wasn’t like the case with Skrawl, whom was an unwilling collaboration. No, he drew Crainiac 4 completely on his own, as an attempt to stop Crainiac 3. But then something happened that he did not see coming. Something he should have realized from the get go.

Crainiac 4 tried to take the magic chalk from him. His personality was still pretty much the same, if not just a tad different from Craniac 3. Rudy felt stupid almost immediately afterwards for drawing Craniac 4. That did not help their situation out at all. And now he has to, though not often, deal with the upgraded robot that he himself had created.

Like how he had created Craniac 4 for a purpose that he only partially fulfilled, and then became something he hadn’t intended, that was likely the same case between Biclops and Cosmo. He guessed that Biclops was supposed to be a vicious monster that was to be Cosmo’s bodyguard. But what he ended up creating instead was a gentle giant who only used force if he had to. This certainly didn’t fit in what Cosmo would have wanted, and perhaps he decided to create Draow shortly after.

Rudy wondered if that had been the reason why Cosmo hurt Biclops. And if it was, it was absolutely sick, quite befitting this horrible man. To hurt a zoner just because they didn’t turn out the way he wanted. Zoners had free will of their own. They didn’t have to abide by what the creator’s intentions were. To force a zoner to be something they don’t want to is just...terrible.

Rudy was snapped back to attention when he heard a scream. He turned his head and saw that Draow had bitten into Skrawl’s side and was shaking him. Rudy’s eyes widened in horror. Before he could do anything, the bat wolf tossed Skrawl aside. The impact caused another scream to come from Skrawl before he lay still on the ground. Not unconscious, but groaning in pain.

Now the boy realized just what Cosmo was doing. He was keeping their attention him..so Draow would have an opening. Draow now raced towards Rudy, snapping his jaws wildly. In the air he flew, pulling his talons forward. Before anyone could react, Draow knocked Rudy into the ground. He turned around and came back for round two.

With a roar, Biclops seized Draow in midair, his fingers clamped firmly around the bat wolf’s neck. Though Draow did struggle, Biclops refused to release him. He pulled Draow out of the air with ease and threw him into the ground. The bat wolf let out a loud whimper, his eyes wide with pain. Then the giant picked up the bat wolf and threw him against the wall. Draow hit his head against the rock and fell down, unconscious.

At first, Rudy was relieved, and he thanked Biclops for saving him. Then horrible realization swept through his mind. Cosmo backing off hadn’t been what the man wanted them to focus on.... It had been Draow. The bat wolf beast was the true distraction. With them busy with Draow, Cosmo would have had enough time to...

Rudy turned his head and his eyes widened in horror at what he saw. Mr. Cosmo had seized the water gun that was still held tightly in Flame’s curled tail. He smiled evilly at Biclops as he walked slowly forward, the water gun held tightly in his hands. Rudy took a defensive stance, ready to defend Biclops.

What is he going to do now? Water dissolved chalk. So Rudy couldn’t fight him with his magic chalk. He’d have to use his physical strength, but then Cosmo did have that knife. He could have defended himself with the magic chalk before, but with that water gun he now has, that was going to be difficult to do. And Biclops could do nothing at all to help. He was a zoner, which mean he shared the same weakness as all zoners, and anything in ChalkZone, have to real world water.

Biclops’s eyes widened in horror as he stared at the water gun. He clearly remembered what had happened before, when one of the evil zoners used it on his leg. The giant took a step back, flinching as Cosmo placed his finger on the trigger. Some water dripped on the ground, dissolving it, creating new deep craters.

“Stop this!” Rudy cried. “Why would you risk using real world water?! Everything around here is chalk! What if you cause a cave in?!”

Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy blankly for a few seconds. A twisted smile came onto his face. “Oh don’t worry... I do not plan on erasing much...” With that, he turned his water gun towards Biclops. He smirked as Biclops took several steps back, the look of confidence gone from the giant’s face. “I just have to get rid of...unwanted failure...”

Rudy felt his blood burn at the word ‘failure’, and how Cosmo had said it. Was that all Biclops was to him? A failure? Was that why he let Flame, Zeal, and Shimmer perish? Did he see them as failures too? Was that the only reason why Draow was the only zoner he ever treated with kindness? Was Draow the only zoner he created that actually lived up to his expectations?

The thought angered Rudy. The idea of treating a zoner like trash just because they weren’t ‘perfect’...It was sickening. He felt his stomach tie in knots as he thought about it.

Rudy saw Mr. Cosmo raise the water gun up towards Biclops. The giant was so large that, even if he ran, he wouldn’t get out of the way in time. He was too big of a target. Rudy had to do something. He had to act and fast. He could see Mr. Cosmo start to pull the trigger. And the water gun he had was a high powered one at that. It would shoot a thick stream of water into the air. And it was aimed right at Biclops’s face...

Rudy rushed in front of Biclops and held his arms out. He doubted it would do anything to stop Cosmo or the water, but he still did it out of instinct. His eyes narrowed in determination. “If you want to get to him, you’ll have to go through me first!”

Mr. Cosmo stared at the boy. Slowly, he lowered the water gun and smiled. “If you would like to be the first to die...be my guest... It will be fun getting rid of you.” Mr. Cosmo took a step forward, his hand reaching for the knife. He held the knife up, smirking at the blood that still stained it. “Though...it’ll be a shame when you die... You won’t be able to witness what I have in store for...the others.”

Rudy asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I told you I’ll be getting rid of all of you... After I’m through with you and Biclops, and might as well get rid of Skrawl too... I am going to go back to that hospital and finish the job with Snap. Then I’ll take your girlfriend, break her just like I did with Snap, and then kill her.” Mr. Cosmo said, his right eye filled with insanity. “And this time, there’ll be no one to save her!”

Rudy gasped and took a step back. He couldn’t believe Cosmo was going to subject the same torture he did on Snap on Penny next. That...that monster... He wasn’t going to let him get away with it... There was no way he was going to allow Cosmo to hurt anyone else. Snap already suffered enough. The thought of Penny suffering the same fate...he found it hard to bear.

Rudy clenched his teeth tightly. His eyes filled with anger. “How dare you...” He growled in a low voice. Cosmo froze, the smile on his face faltering slightly as he heard the rage hidden in that quiet statement. “Kill, kill, kill. Is that all you think about?! Is that the only way you solve your problems?! Penny is my friend! I will not allow her to suffer at your hands! I will not allow you to hurt Biclops or Skrawl either, or anyone else in ChalkZone!”

Rudy took a few steps towards Cosmo. He brought out his magic chalk. Even though Cosmo could erase anything he drew, right now, he didn’t care.

“If you lay a hand on anyone else...if you ever hurt anyone else... I will make you pay.” Rudy warned Cosmo. The anger flashed in his eyes intensely and he moved a little closer to Cosmo. His right hand clutched his magic chalk tightly. “Make things easier on yourself, Cosmo, and just surrender now. Surrender before you do something that will land you in bigger trouble.”

The fear in Cosmo’s eyes came back. It wasn’t as strong as before, but it was there, nonetheless. He took a step back, his eyes now glued onto the boy. Rudy kept quiet, just glaring at the man and waiting for his response. He steadied himself, preparing for whatever Cosmo was going to throw at them.

Then, slowly, Cosmo frowned. He bared his teeth. His right eye regained the rage in them. The realization that his plans had truly, utterly failed, finally hit him. His second plan to try to rule ChalkZone had failed, despite how well thought out this new plan was. And Cosmo was not taking it very well.

In a matter of seconds, in a blind rage, Mr. Cosmo rushed forward. Rudy narrowed his eyes and hunched his back slightly as he stood in a defensive stance. Mr. Cosmo pushed against Rudy, knocking him back. The knife sliced deep into Rudy’s stomach. He cried out in agony and he fell to the ground, blood pouring from the new wound.

Rudy held his stomach, tears of pain filling his eyes. He turned his head and saw Mr. Cosmo was preparing to shoot Biclops. Rudy’s eyes widened in horror. Though the pain consumed him, he forced himself up to his feet. He was shocked at how fast Mr. Cosmo could move even with a limp. Rudy himself was staggering now, the pain in his side and his stomach, combined with his left hand and back, slowing him down. Still, he pushed on and managed to break into a run.

Biclops was moving back as fast as he could. He watched in fear as Mr. Cosmo aimed the water gun at him, fully prepared to shoot him.

“Goodbye, you worthless piece of...” Mr. Cosmo started to say.

“No!” Rudy cried in horror as Mr. Cosmo put his finger on the trigger. Rudy’s yell caused Cosmo to pause and he turned his head to Rudy. “Leave him alone!”

Mr. Cosmo’s right eye widened as Rudy slammed into him and pushed him back away from the giant. The push was enough to knock the knife clean out of the man’s hand. Rudy attempted to grab the water gun out of Cosmo’s hand. The two wrestled with each other for several seconds. Through the struggling Rudy mananged to push Cosmo against the wall.

Cosmo gritted his teeth in frustration. “Get off of me, you little brat!”

He tried to push Rudy away, but the boy was tenacious and wouldn’t give up. Rudy just pushed harder against him. His anger was giving him enough strength to keep the man pinned. He could hear Cosmo’s feet scraping against the ground, trying to get free. Rudy reached for the water gun, trying to rip it out of his hands. Cosmo responded by holding it higher up.

“I am not going to let you steal my victory away from me! I am not going to get defeated again, like I was years ago! I will not allow this!” Cosmo’s right eye was burning with rage, so wide Rudy could see the little red veins on the edges. “I will not let a teenager best me! Do you hear me?! I will not let you beat me!”

“And I will not allow you to continue hurting more zoners! Your plan ends here, Mr. Cosmo!” Rudy shouted in determination. He glared into Cosmo’s remaining eye, boring straight into it. “You will not get away with what you have done! You will lose, and then you will pay the consequences for the heinous crimes you have wrongfully committed against these zoners!”

Cosmo snarled. “As if! You will not stop me, boy! I will make sure that you never leave this cave alive!”

Just then, Cosmo did something that Rudy had not been expecting. Cosmo pointed his water gun up again, but this time, it wasn’t aimed at Biclops anymore. It was aimed...right above him. Rudy could see the foreboding stalactites above him, their ends sharp and dangerous-looking. Rudy realized, in a second, what this man was going to do.

“Die!”

With that, Mr. Cosmo shot water up at the stalactites. The clear liquid cut through the base and the pieces started to fall down. Rudy quickly released Cosmo and tried to run, but Cosmo grabbed him by his shirt collar and held him there.

Mr. Cosmo smiled evilly and said, “I am safe where I’m standing, but I told you, kid, you will never leave here alive....” He pulled on Rudy’s shirt collar tighter, almost gagging the boy. “I think I will just hang onto you until it is too late...” He turned his gaze to Biclops and pointed the water gun at him. “And if you take any step closer, I will kill you...”

Rudy struggled to get free. He looked towards the ceiling, watching the stalactite rapidly lose support. As each second passed, the stalactite got weaker and weaker. In seconds, it would drop down. Rudy needed to get free now, otherwise...

With a sharp yank, Rudy managed to get free. As he started to run, he heard the crack of the stalactite start to give way. A medium size piece landed between him and Cosmo. This did not deter the man. He started to go after Rudy, his fingers hooked as he prepared to grab him.

Suddenly, he let out a scream. Rudy looked down and saw that the man had stepped on his own knife. When he had dropped it, it landed against a rock and was leaning upwards. Cosmo must have been so careless, so eager to get to him that he forgot about the knife. The knife was back on the ground, more blood coating it. The bottom of the man’s foot was covered in blood now, and the man staggered back, clenching his teeth in agony.

Rudy was at a safe distance now. As he stopped running, he heard the ominous crack and he knew what was going to happen next. Rudy turned his head over to where Cosmo was. He hadn’t moved far from the spot he himself was recently in. Cosmo looked at him, his right eye filled with hatred and anger. That lasted only a second. He soon got a horrified expression on his face when he looked up and saw the large chunks of rock raining down on him.

Mr. Cosmo attempted to run, but the pain in his foot caused him to fall to his knees. He took one last look up as the rock crashed down onto him. Rudy screamed in horror as he saw Cosmo’s body become quickly crushed under the weight of the stalactite. The sickening crunch of bones being crushed echoed off the cave walls, reverberating through Rudy’s mind.

Soon, the dust settled, and Rudy could see, clearly, the aftermath. He couldn’t see Cosmo’s body anywhere. In his place, a large pile of rocks that shattered on impact. He could see a large pool of blood seeping through the rocks. A lot of blood, which told Rudy there was no way Cosmo survived this.

Rudy stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had never meant for something like this to happen... He didn’t think something like this could happen. It was hard for him to accept that..that Cosmo was dead. After all he had put him through, it was hard to believe that this...cruel mastermind would suddenly be gone.

Rudy’s body started to shake. Not from fear, but from shock. He knew he hadn’t been the cause of the man’s death. But he was still horrified and disgusted by what he had witnessed. Seeing the death of someone, even an enemy, was not something he could handle well. He started to feel sick to this stomach, which intermixed with the pain from his stomach wound. He dropped to his knees, feeling like he wanted to throw up. He was so shaken up by this that he did not hear Biclops begin to approach him.

“H-How..I...” Rudy stammered. “I didn’t mean...for this to...”

Rudy remained frozen until Biclops pushed a finger against him gently to get his attention. Rudy slowly looked up at the giant. “It’s okay, Rudy... It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah I know but still...” Rudy said softly. He kept his gaze away from the pile of rocks. He didn’t want to stare at the blood anymore. “I should have...”

“No, don’t talk like that.” Biclops said sternly. “I’m not happy about it either. But you did what you could to stop Cosmo. And now, he isn’t a threat anymore. I don’t advocate killing. I’ve seen enough of that years ago. But at least...this way...he can’t hurt anyone ever again. So take comfort in that in the very least.”

Rudy knew the giant was right. Although he hadn’t meant for Mr. Cosmo to die, Biclops made a good point. With him gone, he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. His reign of terror...was truly over. It was finally over...

It would still take him for him to get used to Mr. Cosmo not being around anymore. He would still be on his guard, because he was so used to that when Cosmo was around. It would be difficult to feeling relaxed again. It would take a bit of time for things to go back to normal.

But at least it was over now. At least he no longer had to worry about ChalkZone. With Cosmo gone, he and Penny could work on fixing things and ensuring that no one in the real world new about ChalkZone, while everyone in ChalkZone was safe.

Rudy suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Biclops. “Where is Mr. Wilter? Have you seen him?”

Biclops nodded his head. “Yeah. I found him unconscious in the cave. I would have treated him, but he’s from the real world so my supplies won’t do any good. He went back to the real world, with my help of course, to get treated.” Biclops looked over Rudy’s wounds. “You should head there as well. You look worse off than he did.”

Rudy shook his head. “N-No...I’m fine.” The pain that was suppressed momentarily by the adrenaline was fading. Agony swept through Rudy’s body. He winced and he staggered as he tried to walk. “I need to...go see Snap...”

Biclops placed a hand in front of Rudy, stopping him in his tracks. “No, Rudy Tabootie. Go back to your world and get your wounds treated.”

“But...” Rudy started to say.

Biclops narrowed his eyes slightly. “Go to the hospital in your world, Rudy. Now. You can’t go wandering around in ChalkZone losing that much blood. You need to stop the bleeding. Go to the real world and get those wounds bandaged up. You can come back after.” He paused for a moment. “Do it for Snap. He wouldn’t want to see you so badly hurt and bloody, now would he?”

Rudy shook his head slowly. “No...he wouldn’t...And my parents..they must be so worried about me...” He turned his head to Skrawl and Draow. “What do you plan on doing with them?”

Biclops replied, “Draow, I’m going to lock up somewhere safe, where he’ll never be able to get out. As for Skrawl, I’ll treat his wounds and let him go. He wasn’t a part of this whole mess, so there’s no need for me to punish him.”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah... He was a big help...”

After saying goodbye to Biclops, Rudy grabbed a piece of chalk and went outside of the Chalk Mine. He started to walk in the direction where his school chalkboard would be. He couldn’t go to his home directly. He wasn’t even sure if he had another portable chalkboard. He recalled him or Penny getting one, or so he thought. But with all that had happened, details like that got muddled up in his head.

He paused and looked back at the Chalk Mine. It was still hard for him to believe that it was over, at least. It was hard to believe that, just a short while before, Cosmo was still at least, still a threat. Now he was gone. No longer can he hurt anyone.

Rudy stared at the Chalk Mine for about a minute. Then, slowly, he turned and walked away.


	45. Earn Your Happy Ending

Rudy stood outside of the hospital. He examined it up and down. He could see signs of what had happened to the hospital, what he was certain Cosmo had done. Smoke still pillowed out two sides. There were still some faint burn marks where he believed Cosmo used explosives or whatever other awful device he came up with.

The hospital was still operational, which was a great relief to him. Penny likely helped out and fixed up a few things. She was good with technological stuff like that. Her efforts would have saved not only Snap, but other zoners who had been injured recently.

He remembered that he still needed to get those other zoners back. He would do that as soon as he was able to. Once back, some of the zoners, like Lars, would need to come to the hospital to get that thing out of their heads. He hoped that none of them will have to suffer what Snap was going through right now.

Rudy bit his lip. He had no idea how well Snap was going to do after this. Sure, Cosmo was gone and could never hurt him again. Sure, the device was probably out of his head by now and could no longer do any further damage...but then that is provided he made it through the surgery. He was in such a weak state... And even if he did pull through, what were the odds that he would even recover completely? What if some terrible scar remained? He hated the idea of Snap permanently losing the ability to walk...

Rudy then thought about his parents. He was going to go to his parents right away to let them know he was okay, but after being gone for a while, he doubted they would let him leave anytime soon. They would see his wounds want him to stay home. They would want to know what happened to him and call the police and get an investigation. Being stabbed three times was nothing to sneeze at.

Rudy looked down at his own injuries. They were bandaged up by now, pretty tightly and the bleeding had somewhat stopped. He hadn’t gone to the hospital like Biclops told him to, though. Again, if he had done that, he would not have been allowed to leave. The doctors would have wanted to know what happened to him, and have his parents called in. Then he wouldn’t be able to get back to ChalkZone for a while.

So instead, he opted to go the one person who could offer some medical treatment who would understand his need to go back to ChalkZone. Mr. Wilter. He was able to find him at his house, bandaged up. He had been horrified to see Rudy stumble in, bleeding from several places. Rudy had lost a lot of blood, and he started to feel slightly lightheaded.

Mr. Wilter did what he could to help him. He was reluctant to let Rudy go back to ChalkZone like that. But he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to stop Rudy anyway. And he understood how worried Rudy was for Snap. Mr. Wilter decided to let Rudy use his chalkboard, rather than go all the way back to the school and use it.

Rudy was grateful for this. The portal did lead into Rapsheeba’s large home, which was far from the hospital, but that was no problem for Rudy. He just used the magic chalk to drew a mode of fast transportation. It still took a while, probably twenty minutes, but he did reach the hospital where Snap had been taken to.

Rudy stepped into the hospital and looked around. He didn’t see Penny or Rapsheeba waiting for him. They must be up in Snap’s room. That was a good sign. It meant that Snap did make it through surgery. But..no it didn’t automatically mean that. What if they had left because Snap...no, he couldn’t think like that. Everything was fine. He just had to keep believing that. He couldn’t jump to conclusions. He had just arrived. He had no idea if he was okay or not.

He went up to the receptionist desk. The zoner there looked at him.

“Yes?” She asked.

“I’m...looking for Snap.” Rudy said hesitantly, fearful of what the response might be.

Her eyes widened a little, and they filled with sympathy. Rudy tried not to shiver. He didn’t want that to be bad news.

“He’s on the second level. Room A12.” The receptionist said, her voice empathetic. “He survived the surgery, but he is not awake yet...” Her voice trailed off, like she wanted to say more, but thought best she didn’t.

Rudy nodded his head slowly. “Thank you...”

As Rudy headed to where Snap’s room was, thoughts swam through his mind. He wasn’t awake yet? Of course he wouldn’t be. He just had surgery and was probably still out from the anesthesia. But the way she said it... It almost sounded like she, and none of the doctors, knew when he was going to wake up.

Was...was Snap going to be stuck in a...a coma..? Was he going to remain out cold for the rest of his life? Rudy felt tears fill his eyes. This was an even worse fate than just losing his legs. This was a fate worse than death. Being stuck in bed, unable to perceive the world around him, just...laying there. That was a horrible way to live out the rest of anyone’s life.

And with Snap being a zoner, and thus living much, much longer than any human, it was even worse...

Rudy found Snap’s room. He could see the number A12 in gold emboss on it. He gently pushed the door open and looked inside. He could see Rapsheeba and Penny sitting beside Snap, who was laying on the bed. Both looked like they had been crying for sometime. Rudy slipped into the room, being careful not to startle them.

The silence of the room was haunting to him. Although he could hear Penny and Rapsheeba breathe in and out, and though he could hear the heart monitor beeping, it did nothing to push out the horrible silence all around him. He felt like the walls were closing in all around him, and he had nowhere to escape to.

The heavy smell of medication and cleaning supplies filled his nostrils. He snorted a little, trying to get the scent out. He looked down at his best friend, laying on the hospital bed. His lip quivered as he looked at Snap in such a horrible state.

Snap was bandaged up. He could see a bloodstain on his head, where he assumed the doctors had to get the nail out. His eyes were closed, but they looked a little wrinkled, unhealthy. His face was paler than usual, which was surprising considering his skin was very light to start with. Parts of his face were flushed read, telling Rudy he still had a bad fever. His mouth was open and he took in shallow, irregular breaths. Each one reminded Rudy more and more of how frail his condition was.

Rudy pulled up the third chair and sat down next to Penny. He took in a deep breath and turned to her.

“How....how is he...?” He managed to choke out.

Penny shook her head slowly. “His fever isn’t going down. They’re trying to stabilize it, but nothing they tried so far is working. And the infection is still ravaging his body and there’s no signs of that slowing down either.”

Rudy took in a shuddering breath as he let this sink in.

Penny looked at him, her eyes wide with sadness. “They...they said that the infection and fever will interfere with the healing process. If they can’t get rid of it soon... He might...” She shed more tears and put her hands on her face, covering it. “I’m sorry...”

Rudy felt like the world around him shattered. He didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be true. He looked over at Snap. He watched as his chest weakly moved up and down. He looked at the IVs stuck in his arms, putting liquid and medicine inside of him. He could see the heart monitor continuously beeping. Snap’s heartrate was irregular, and sometimes spiked while other times dropped low.

His eyes slowly moved to the bloody spot on his head. If Snap was having a hard time fighting off the infection, then would that mean that the opening in his head was... Oh no, if he got another infection, he didn’t know if he was going to make it.

Tears filled Rudy’s eyes. He wanted to speak. He wanted to say something, anything. But emotion choked all his will to talk out of him. He turned to Penny and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Rapsheeba turned her head briefly, to look at them, before her gaze turned back to the ground. Chalky tears dripped onto the floor.

sss

Although they had been reluctant to leave, Rudy and Penny knew they had to get things settled with their families. They both here gone for a while and both of them had been injured. If they waited too long, their parents would call the police and then they’d be dragged off and interviewed, and neither of them felt like dealing with the cops right now.

Rudy was not prepared for the emotional embrace of his parents. When he walked through that door, he could see them pacing back and forth in the living room. When they saw their son walk through the door, they immediately rushed over and hugged him. He could practically feel their joyful tears hit him, very happy and relieved that he had finally come home.

They had been worried so sick about him. Rudy felt horrible about it. He never meant to make them worry. But what could he have done? He had been trapped at Cosmo’s place this whole time. And his cellphone wouldn’t work. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t contact his parents, yet he still couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about the whole thing.

When his parents noticed his injuries, they were understandably horrified. They immediately guessed that he had been attacked. They wanted to call the police and inform them of this and get an investigation going. But Rudy knew this could come close to exposing ChalkZone. After what happened, he couldn’t afford to let something else potentially happen to it. The last thing ChalkZone needed was someone else finding out about it.

Rudy managed to convince his parents that it was okay now. He came up with the story that he had been attacked in the alley and stabbed. He didn’t come up with a reason for why he was stabbed, but that wasn’t necessary. He explained that he got away from his attacker and how he saw his attacker fall to his death during the chase. He really drove home the point that his would-be kidnapper was gone and wouldn’t bother him again.

Though reluctant still, his parents agreed not to call the cops. They embraced their son again, glad that he was finally back home. Rudy was happy to see them too. He never thought he’d see them again. He didn’t think he would get out of that situation alive, or at least as himself. He was scared to think of what would have happened to his parents, had he joined Mr. Cosmo...

When Rudy was able to speak to Penny a few hours later, she informed she got similar treatment from her mother and estranged father. She had come up with a story about being attacked by a wild animal and had to hide for hours before it would leave. They both bought the story, but because of how worried they were, they wouldn’t let Penny leave the house for the rest of the night.

Rudy got the same treatment. He could slip into ChalkZone to go check on Snap, but that would be risky. His parents could come in, see that he was gone, and call the police. So instead, when he opened up a portal, he called out to a zoner that was strolling nearby and asked them to deliver a message to Rapsheeba for him. He told the zoner to let Rapsheeba know that they wouldn’t be able to get back into ChalkZone until the next day. The zoner went off to deliver the message.

Rudy crawled into his bed. He pulled the covers over him. It was hard for him to close his eyes at first. He thought, each time he did, he could see Cosmo’s face or hear Snap’s scream. He almost believed that, if he dared rest, something else bad would happen. He spent some time just staring up at the ceiling, his mind reflecting on all that had happened today.

Finally, at long last, he went to sleep.

sss

The next day, Rudy and Penny managed to get back into the building they once been trapped in. They didn’t want to go back in this horrid room. It brought back the haunting memories of what they been through. But they had to come back. Zoners were still trapped here and they had to get them out.

Navigating the building was hard without the guidance of Ms. Saffron. But they managed to locate where the zoners were being kept. Before they found it, they came across two rooms that sent chills down Rudy’s spine. One was where Snap was being held and tormented, the same one with the vat of vinegar he was almost dropped in. And the other was the same place where they had been forced to fight Snap, under Cosmo’s control.

Rudy felt bad that he didn’t get here sooner to get the zoners out. But there was no way he would have been able to come. Not with how worried his parents were. Even now, his parents were worried, and so where Penny’s. It took a lot to convince them to let them go out on their own. They would have taken their parents with them, but it would mean exposing ChalkZone. How would they even explain the zoners without doing that?

Rudy drew a new portal and ushered the zoners through. With the machine turned off, all the zoners reverted back to normal and became fully aware of what was going on. They were worried, frightened, but in the end immensely relieved to be going back home. Rudy didn’t close the portal until all the zoners had been brought back safely into ChalkZone. He and Penny removed the control braces from the zoners who were lucky enough to be stuck with them. Others, like Lars, were sent to the hospital to undergo surgery to get it removed.

Then it came time to erase the evidence. A lot of technology Cosmo had used were created with chalk. So the vast majority of his stuff were erased using water. The more areas they placed, the more normal, though rundown, the place started to look. By the time they were done, except for a few machines, the place looked like how it should have, old and worn but still functional. The machines that remained looked like they hadn’t been used in years, and only about two looked new.

Rudy realized that, with a lot of the machines, he never knew just what they were for. He didn’t know what purpose they had fulfilled. And he didn’t care. All he knew was that they were created by Cosmo, and that was good enough reason for him to have them destroyed. Nothing good would have come out of them.

Then the most gruesome part came. What were they to do with Cosmo and Saffron’s bodies? They couldn’t leave them in ChalkZone. They would need to bring them both back into the real world and come up with a story about how they died and how they found them like that. Cosmo was going to be the most disturbing one to move. He had been crushed by the rocks, so his body would be completely distorted and unrecognizable. Rudy didn’t think he had the stomach to see that.

They moved Ms. Saffron’s body first. The image of her pale face and the feel of her cold skin etched deep into Rudy’s mind. He was never going to get this horrid image out of his head. It was worse when it was time to move Cosmo. Just as he had predicted, he was unrecognizable, and there was so much blood... The stench of it hung heavily in the air.

Rudy wasn’t sure what kind of story he would weave to explain what happened to them without risking exposing ChalkZone. Penny said she would figure something out and to not worry about it. Rudy wanted to believe her. But he wasn’t certain just what excuse would be good enough to explain why Cosmo is a pancake and why Saffron’s neck is cut open.

The story Penny managed to come up with was that Mr. Cosmo was planning some kind of major conspiracy and was trying to get Ms. Saffron in on it. When she refused, he killed her, but then shortly after, a piece of ceiling crashed onto him, crushing him to death. And that she and her friend Rudy had witnessed the whole thing on the way home and were both horribly scarred by it.

They were relieved that everyone at the station bought it. Whether or not there’d be an investigation, the police wouldn’t say. Rudy and Penny hoped there wouldn’t be, just in case they missed a spot and evidence of ChalkZone was found. But they had been thorough, so those thoughts were shrugged out of their heads.

The only person who did not buy their story was Terry, who had come back to town. She had gotten word about the deaths of fellow reporter Mr. Cosmo and Ms. Saffron. She had tried to get an interview with them to get them to spill the beans on what really happened. But neither Rudy nor Penny were in the mood for her and managed to get away. Terry did try again, determined to get to the bottom of it. Again she was ignored. Infuriated, she left, but not before saying that now that ChalkZone is a safety hazard, she would do whatever she could to expose the truth.

As much as the two were irritated by the woman, they were somewhat relieved that, if any more trouble were to happen, it would be from her. They knew Terry was not as bad as Mr. Cosmo and would not stoop to the same level as he did. They were more used to having to deal with her, knowing what she was capable of and how to combat it. So in an ironic way, they were glad to have her back.

All this had taken up quite a bit of the day. They didn’t want to worry their parents. So they both decided to head back home. Rudy promised Penny he would call her once he gets an update on Snap’s condition. Penny thanked him and returned home. He went back to his place, greeted his parents who were relieved that he came home this time, and headed up the stairs. He said he was going to take a rest and not disturb him, an attempt to ensure they didn’t open the door and find him gone.

Rudy opened up a portal to ChalkZone. He took in a deep breath, mentall preparing himself for what might await him there. Then he went into ChalkZone.

sss

Rudy entered Snap’s hospital room. Just like he thought, Rapsheeba was still there, and Snap was still out cold. Rudy walked up and sat down in the seat next to Rapsheeba. He looked over at his friend. He didn’t look too much better. A little color returned, but it was very hard to tell. The heartbeats were slightly more regular. But it wasn’t a vast improvement by any means. And it didn’t mean that Snap was going to pull out of this anytime soon, if at all...

He thought about Mr. Cosmo’s words. About how Snap was going to die soon... No, he refused to believe that. He was not going to let that man get the last laugh on him. He would not believe that Snap was going to die. Mr. Cosmo was not going to take his dear friend away from him like this. He couldn’t lose Snap again. No, he couldn’t. And he wouldn’t.

He turned his head towards Rapsheeba. Her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying. Her cheeks were clearly tear-stained. It looked as if she had cried the entire time she was here. Rudy was certain that she was going to run out of tears soon.

He himself had been crying, too. Even when he tried to be as positive and determined as possible, even when he told himself that everything was going to be okay, that Snap would wake up and recover, he couldn’t help but cry. The negative emotions, the horrible ‘what if Snap dies’ weighed so heavily on him, he was unable to shake it off.

The silence of the room was starting to get to Rudy. He felt uncomfortable being in a room with Snap and not hear him say something. He was always such a talkative guy...

“How is he doing?” Rudy asked, breaking the silence.

A sniffle and he heard her blow her nose. She looked up to Rudy and said, “A little better. Fever went down a tad. But he’s still in danger. They don’t...they don’t know if he’ll make it.”

Rudy bit his lip at this news. He tried to hold back his sob. It wasn’t exactly the kind of news that would brighten up anyone’s day, unfortunately. No, it was horrible news, because it meant Snap was still not out of the woods, and nowhere near being out. It meant that there was still a chance that he could die in this bed, in this very hospital, and this might be the last time he’ll ever see him alive.

Yet, despite it all, Rudy still hung on to hope. He wanted to truly believe Snap stood a chance of making it. He was a tough little guy. A fighter. If he knew Snap well, he would pull out of this. He would recover, and things would go back to the way they used to be, as if nothing had changed.

Rudy put a comforting hand on Rapsheeba’s shoulder. “He’ll pull through... I’m sure of it.”

Rapsheeba’s eyes widened slightly. “But, Rudy..how can you be so sure? What if...”

“Don’t think like that. I believe Snap will make it. And so should you.” Rudy said, doing his best to smile despite the sadness overwhelming him. “It’ll be okay, Rapsheeba... It will be all right..”

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the zoner and pulled her into a hug. Rapsheeba was surprised by this embrace at first. But she soon returned it back. The two hugged for several minutes. Rapsheeba cried into Rudy’s shoulder. He gently rubbed her back, trying his best to calm her down.

As they hugged, Rudy opened up an eye and stared over at Snap’s unconscious form. He felt tears well up in his eyes. His words might be good enough to cheer up Rapsheeba, even just a little. But a part of him couldn’t feel much better. A part of him nagged at him, reminding him of Cosmo’s words and actions. The kick to his head, and Snap almost instantly losing consciousness, becoming still as stone. A part of him wondered if the kick really had been meant to be lethal, and that Mr. Cosmo’s words weren’t just a cruel statement to get to him, but fact, a promise.

He hugged Rapsheeba tighter and squeezed his eyes shut, tears flowing through them rapidly. He was careful not to let any drop on the zoner. He stared at Snap, his vision now distorted by his tears. This really couldn’t be the last time that he’ll...no... No he had to believe it would be okay. He had to push aside these negative feelings. He had to remind himself of who Snap was. He would make it.

He would pull through...

sss

Two days passed by and still no positive change in Snap. Rudy felt his heart ache, making him feel sick. The infection slowed down and his fever started to lower. But that was pretty much eat. There was no indication that he would wake up. And there was no way to know, even if he woke up, if he would regain the use and feeling in his legs.

For him to stay this long unconscious, Rudy knew that the kick had done a lot of damage. The doctors mentioned stuff about brain swelling and how the back of his brain was bruised a little. That made his blood freeze, as well as Penny’s. Depending on the extent of the damage, the possibility of Snap never waking up was possible. If not, then permanent damage to his legs was an even bigger possibility. The doctors haven’t been able to get a positive reflex text out of Snap.

Snap had some visitors the past two days. Zoners like Blocky, Bathtub Granny, and Chalk Dad all came to visit him. They wished him well and hoped he would be back on his feet soon. They even left behind some presents for him for whenever he woke up. Or if he woke up...No, Rudy told himself to push those thoughts back.

What surprised Rudy was that even Skrawl came to visit. Understandably, the other zoners were wary to have this zoner around, and some wondered if he was up to something. Skrawl didn’t stay long. He just dropped something off and left with his Beanie Boys. Rudy and Penny checked it to make sure it was safe. It was a Snap plushie, the kind that Skrawl usually used to train his Beanie Boys with. They were surprised that he was giving one as a gift to Snap. But before they could question or at least thank him, Skrawl was gone.

Rudy decided not to question Skrawl for the time being. He can always ask the jellybean later why he decided to do that, without any incentive or reward either.

Rudy stared at Snap, who still hadn’t woken up yet. He refused to give up hope on him. It’s only been a few days. Surely something would change soon. Very soon yes, something would happen. He just couldn’t give up on Snap. He never gave up on him. He had to return the favor.

“Hey Rudy...?” Penny whispered.

Rudy had almost forgotten Penny was sitting next to him. Rapsheeba had left to use the bathroom and to get a drink of water. He had been so worried about Snap, he forgot he wasn’t the only one in the room with him.

“Yeah, Penny?” Rudy asked.

“Did the doctor say anything?” Penny asked, her voice filled with hope undeniably, hope that sounded like it would shatter at the sound of any slightly bad news. “Is there...is there an update on Snap?”

Rudy hated to break her heart. He wanted so much to tell her that Snap was going to be okay. But that would be the worst possible thing to do. He couldn’t lie to her like that. It would be wrong, and it would make things a lot worse.

Rudy, reluctantly, shook his head. “Nothing new. The only good thing that’s been going on is his fever is slowly returning to normal and the infection is going down. The medication is fighting them off. But as for if he’ll wake up, or if he’ll walk again...I just..don’t know...”

Penny seemed to sense what he was going through. In a second, she had put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. “It’s okay, Rudy...” She whispered in an attempt to soothe him. Rudy started to cry. She held him tighter. “It will be...”

Then suddenly she paused. Rudy wasn’t sure why she had gone quiet. Her body had stiffened up, as if something had shocked or scared her. Rudy felt his heart beating faster in a panic. Did Draow escape and come into the room to attack them? But wait, Penny wasn’t moving to get away. So what had happened?

“Rudy...” Her voice whispered, incredulous. He saw her arm rise up. “Look...” She held her and out and pointed.

Rudy turned his head and almost instantly, he sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Snap...had moved. He had moved... His head was now tilted to one side. But that wasn’t all that he could see. His eyes were moving under the lids. His mouth had closed, teeth clenched. Escaping his mouth was a low groan, the first verbal sound he made since he was knocked unconscious by Mr. Cosmo.

Snap turned his head left to right a few times before, slowly, ever so slowly, opening them. He immediately flinched at the light, turning his head away. He slowly looked over and saw Rudy and Penny. He blinked at them at first, as if he did not remember who they were. Then, slowly, he gave them a weak smile.

“H-Hey...B-Bucko..Buckette...” He whispered in a gravelly, dry voice. He attempted to wave at them, but the pain stopped him, and he flinched. “Wh-what happened...?”

Rudy stared at Snap, unsure if what he was seeing was real. He couldn’t tell if it was some horrible hallucination, if his mind was playing tricks on him. The longer he stared at Snap, seeing his eyes open and looking right at him, the quicker he started to realize that yes, this was indeed taking place.

It took a while for the news to sink into the two. Then, overwhelmed with joy, they cried out Snap’s name and rushed over to him. Rapsheeba, who arrived shortly after, soon joined them. Snap was confused at first, but he was quite happy to have three of his closest friends with him. He allowed his friends to embrace him, and they started to fill him in on what happened.

sss

It took a while for Snap to remember what happened. The blow to his head didn’t do much to help him recall all the details. But when his memories did return, Rudy was not surprised at what his first question turned out to be.

“Where’s Mr. Cosmo...?”

That question was asked in a cautious tone. Some fear to it, but not as much as he used to display. Snap stared at Rudy and Penny with wide-eyes, and he looked like he was worried that the evil man would burst through the door at any minute and take him away or hurt his friends.

Rudy gave a small smile to him. “It’s okay, Snap. We defeated him. He won’t be hurting anymore zoners anymore... He won’t be able to get to you.”

Snap smiled back. But there was still some worry in his eyes. “Are you..sure he won’t come back?”

“Yeah... I saw him get crushed to death underneath some rocks.” Rudy shivered at the memory. “Unless he comes back as a zombie, we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Snap gave a weak chuckle at the zombie comment. It wasn’t much, but it lifted his friends’ spirits. It was nice to finally hear Snap do something other than cry and sound afraid. It was nice that they could hear him laugh again, to display some positive emotions. The laugh brought him closer to how he used to be like, before this whole mess started.

Snap stared down at his legs. His happy expression was replaced with a more solemn one. “I still can’t feel my legs...” He said sadly. He looked over at his friends. “Did they say if I have a chance of getting them back?”

Penny shook her head. “No...sorry Snap. They don’t know if you will or not.”

“The fever is going down, so is the infection. So you’ll feel better soon.” Rudy said, wanting to give a little bit of good news.

But Snap didn’t look like he was cheered up too much. He stared blankly at his feet. Rudy could only imagine the thoughts running through the blue boy’s mind. The idea of never being able to use his legs must be terrifying for him. Rudy wished he could do something to help. Yet what could he say to cheer up someone who might have permanently lost their legs? It takes time to adjust.

And it would take Snap a long time to get used to this.

sss

A week passed, and there was still no change in Snap’s legs. Though his fever and infection disappeared, and the pain in his head started to diminish a little, there was no improvement in the condition of his legs. It got to the point where the doctors discussed getting a wheelchair for him to use.

That did not settle well with Snap. He was adamant about not using the wheelchair. He wanted to be able to get around on his own, not having to rely on some basic machine. It took a lot of convincing from Rudy and Penny to finally convince Snap to give the wheelchair a try.

It took some time to get used to the wheelchair. Snap had some trouble getting in and out at first. He wasn’t used to moving around without his legs. His arms weren’t exactly designed to pull his weight. For the first few times he used the wheelchair, he had to have Rudy, Penny, or Rapsheeba help him. This included when he had to use the bathroom, which he was quite embarrassed about. But no one shamed him for it. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t walk.

Rudy was a bit surprised when the doctors decided to release Snap from the hospital. He spoke to them. Dr. Urso answered his questions. The lion bear explained that they felt Snap would be able to recover better if he were in his own home. He did warn Rudy that Snap may have to get used to the wheelchair because it was becoming more and more unlikely, as each day passed, that he would ever regain the use of his legs.

When Rudy told this to Snap, the blue guy shrugged it off. Snap had become quite hopeful that he would regain the use of his legs. He felt he just had to give it time, and in the meantime, he could still go with them through ChalkZone in the wheelchair, albeit not as much.

Just being back in ChalkZone, without the fear of Mr. Cosmo, cheered Snap up. He regained a lot of his confidence back, and he almost completely returned back to the same Snap they used to know, minus the legs.

But that didn’t last long...

When two weeks passed and no sign of change in his legs, Snap started to become a little anxious. There were times when he would try to jump out of the wheelchair before reminding himself he couldn’t use his legs. There were times he wanted to run, but again, he had to tell himself his legs were of no use to him anymore.

It was becoming more and more likely that the loss of feeling and loss of movement in his legs was going to be with him forever. This crushed Rudy and Penny’s hearts. They were absolutely devastated. And the toll it was taking on Snap was unbearable to watch. Slowly, Snap melted down, his sanity no longer being able to take being stuck in the wheelchair.

“I can’t take it anymore! I have to get out of this thing!” Snap cried out, his eyes wide in horror. He tried to shift himself out of the chair. “Get me out! Get me off of this thing!”

Rudy and Penny rushed to Snap’s side and grabbed his arms. They held him down, trying to keep him from falling out.

“Snap! Calm down!” Rudy cried.

“Please, don’t make this harder on yourself!” Penny begged.

Snap continued to struggle. His wide eyes began to drip a little with tears. He fought against his friends’ gasps. He tried to move his legs. He tried to push himself out of the chair. He kept calling out in desperation.

“No, please! Get me out! I want to walk! I want to run! Please!” Snap begged. Slowly, he started to calm down, the emotional toll starting to take effect. “No..please...no...” His voice shrank down into whispers. Soon he became still and he started to cry. “No...”

Rudy and Penny wrapped their arms around their trembling friend.

“Shh..it’ll be okay...” Penny whispered. “Everything will be okay...”

“Yeah...you’ll see.. You’ll be fine... Please, don’t cry Snap..please..” Rudy said in a low voice.

Snap just trembled and cried. He soon returned the hug, and the tears just kept coming down. Seeing Snap like this broke their hearts even more. It was clear just how much of an impact this was having on his psyche.

sss

Two days later, Rudy walked around in ChalkZone looking for Snap. He didn’t meet him like where he usually would. He wondered if something was wrong. At first, he thought something terrible happened, but he pushed those thoughts aside. He had to keep reminding himself that Cosmo was gone for good and that Snap’s fever and infection had completely gone away.

After a while of not seeing Snap anywhere, Rudy tried to locate a zoner who knew him and ask them what happened. He soon found Blocky and Rapsheeba coming up to him. They both looked really worried. Rudy felt his heart start to pound.

“Rudy, you have to do something!” Blocky cried, his voice filled with worry. “Snap hasn’t left his house all day!”

“What?” Rudy asked.

“Yeah. He’s usually out and about by this time. But we found he is still in his house. And he won’t let us in.” Rapsheeba explained, her eyes brimming with tears. “He..he says he doesn’t want to be a burden to us. We tried to get in, but he kept yelling at his to get out.”

Rudy’s eyes widened. His thoughts went back to the outburst Snap had a few days ago. He looked in Snap’s house’s direction, his eyes filled with concern.

“Please, Rudy. You have to help him!” Blocky said. “He can’t stay cooped up in his house all alone like that.”

Rapsheeba nodded in agreement. “If there’s anyone he’d listen to...it’s you, Rudy.” She took a step towards Rudy. She put her hand on his and said, “Please..help him..”

Rudy went to Snap’s house as fast as he could. When he found it, he was shocked to see that all the curtains were closed and there were no signs of light inside. This wasn’t light Snap at all. Rudy came up to the door and knocked on it.

“Go away.” Snap’s voice came.

“Come on, Snap. It’s me, Rudy.” The 15 year old knocked on the door again, this time a little harder. “Open up!”

“Leave me alone!” Snap shouted at him. “I don’t want you to fuss over me! I can do things on my own!”

“I never said you couldn’t! I understand you want to prove you can still be independent, Snap. But this is not the way to do it! Blocky and Rapsheeba are worried sick about you!” Rudy continued to pound on the door. “Now open this door! You are not going to shut yourself up from ChalkZone like this!”

“Oh yeah? Watch me.”

Rudy growled under his breath. He was not going to let his best friend torment himself like this. He was not going to allow Snap to push away his comrades this way, the ones who just want to help him feel better. He was going to get into that house, whether Snap liked it or not.

Rudy attempted to turn the doorknob. Like he predicted, Snap had locked it. Rudy quickly drew a key and turned it. He heard the click and then he pushed the door open. He quickly saw how all the lights were off. Snap never bothered turning them on, maybe to make his house feel less welcoming, to drive others away.

Rudy found Snap in his living room, facing away from him. He was staring at his TV, which was shut off. He looked absolutely lost, like he had been robbed of a piece of himself. Which is very much what had happened.

When he approached, Snap growled at him, “Go away...”

“No Snap...I won’t.” Rudy said firmly. He went over to Snap and stood in front of him. He winced when Snap scowled at him, but he did not budge. “You can’t keep acting this way. You can’t push others away when all they want to do is help...”

“Help huh? You want to help?! Try getting my legs back! Can you do that?!” Snap shouted, holding out his arms to emphasize his point. His eyes were wide with anger.

“Snap...I...” Rudy tried to say.

“But you can’t, can you, Bucko?!” Snap snarled at him, showing his teeth as he spoke. “Because you, despite being the oh-so-great creator, can’t give me control of my legs back! No one can! So if no one can do that, why should I listen to any of you?! There’s nothing anyone can do for me! Nothing!”

Rudy was frozen, staring at Snap in shock. He had never heard his friend...snap like that before... It was horrible to watch. The rage and sadness in his eyes mixed very well, showing clearly in his large white eyes. Snap looked like he wanted to bite Rudy’s head off if he took a step closer to him.

But he knew that it was not him Snap was really mad at. It was fate. Cruel, twisted fate that took away his legs through Cosmo’s actions. He was also clearly angry that others had to help him from time to time, because he had not fully adjusted to live in a wheelchair yet. He truly did feel like a burden, and that was something Snap hated to do.

Without saying a word, Rudy lunged forward. He wrapped his arms around Snap and pulled him into a hug. Snap froze, clearly not expecting this right after his little temper tantrum. Rudy hung on, whispering comforting words to Snap. And slowly, Snap’s expression softened, and sorrow started to take hold. He started to whimper as the reality of what he said sank in.

“Oh B-Bucko..I’m...I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...” Snap hugged Rudy back. He tried to fight back his tears. “I was just so...angry and... I’m sorry...”

“I understand Snap...This is a hard thing to go through... You didn’t ask for this. You didn’t deserve this. I’m so sorry this happened...” Rudy said, gently rubbing Snap’s back. “But you can’t hide from the others like this... They want to help you too. Please, Snap...don’t be like this. Don’t push your friends away. It will hurt us just as much as it hurts you. Let us in...talk to us. We want to be there for you. Please...”

“Y-Yeah...I know...” Snap said. His body trembled like a leaf. “I know...”

Trying to think of something to lighten the mood, Rudy said, “How..how about I invite Penny over to your place and we play some chinese chalkers? Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“Yeah...sure...” Snap said, trying his best to smile.

sss

Rudy decided it was best if he tried to spend the night at Snap’s. He called Penny on the phone and told her about what he had in mind. He explained to her about Snap’s outburst and how depressed he had gotten, and that maybe he’d feel better if he had company over and played some games. It took a while to convince both their parents, but under the guise of staying over at a third friend’s place, they went into ChalkZone.

Snap’s mood hadn’t brightened up too much. But this time, he didn’t shout at Rudy when he knocked on the door. He even opened up the door for them instead of forcing them to open it themselves. The two headed into the living room where they began to play the game.

At first, Snap didn’t look like he was having a very good time. He tried to sound excited, but his attempts at enthusiasm were noticeably fake. This worried Rud and Penny. Chinese chalkers was one of Snap’s favorite games, and for him not to fully enjoy it... It made them both sad.

Slowly, Snap started to warm up and he started to look and act a little happier. It took some more time still, but within an hour, Snap seemed like he was back to his old self. He began to genuinely enjoy the game, shouting congratulations to his friends while enthusiastically making his moves. They played a few rounds of chinese chalkers and didn’t notice how late it was getting.

When it came time to call it quits and get to bed, Snap thanked Rudy and Penny for the wonderful time and said he was feeling much better now. That made the two happy. It was nice to hear that Snap’s mood was lifted, even if it was just for today. Tomorrow was a whole different story.

The three went off to bed. Snap asked if he could sleep on the floor, just so he could feel ‘normal’ again. Rudy didn’t like this idea at first, but Snap said he promised he would wake them up if he needed to use his wheelchair for something. Eventually, Rudy and Penny agreed to this. Rudy drew them each sleeping bags. They crawled into them and settled in for the night.

Rudy found it was still hard to get to sleep. Even after all this time. Mr. Cosmo really left an imprint on them all. So had Ms. Saffron... He flinched as he thought of her name. Snap had been very upset when he was reminded of her death. Penny was saddened by it too. Even though none of them knew her for that long, they were hall hit hard when they found out she had been killed.

But Rudy did feel some relief. That Ms. Saffron’s sacrifice had not been in vain. Mr. Cosmo had been stopped, and he could rest easy knowing that her spirit would be at peace with this fact. And he knew Penny and Snap both felt the same way.

Slowly, Rudy managed to get himself to sleep.

sss

“Hey? Bucko? Wake up.”

Rudy mumbled and shifted his head away from the source of the voice.

“Rudy!”

The boy mumbled, “Just five more minutes...”

“Move your leg! It’s hurting me!”

Rudy slowly opened up his eyes. He saw Snap staring at him. He was using his arms to hold himself up. Rudy turned his head and saw where his leg was. It was resting across both Snap’s legs. It must have been there for so long that it was starting to irritate them.

Half-asleep, Rudy grumbled, “Oh...I’m sorry Snap...”

Then, reality set in. Rudy’s eyes snapped wide open. He shot upwards, startling Snap.

“Whoa! What is it?” Snap asked, waving his hands in front of him. “There isn’t a fire, is there?”

Rudy stared at where his leg was. He rubbed his eyes and looked to make sure he hadn’t been hallucinating. No..his leg..was stretched over Snap’s legs...

“S-Snap...” Rudy whispered. He pointed down. “Look...”

Snap turned his head and saw what Rudy was pointing to. He froze, his eyes widening in shock, mouth agape. “My...legs...I can...I can feel my legs...”

Penny stirred in her sleep. She lifted up her head and looked up at the two. “What is it...?”

“It’s Snap...He can feel his legs!” Rudy cried, his voice filled with relief and enthusiasm. “He can feel them!”

Penny stared at them for a few seconds before suddenly letting out a scream of joy. The trio engaged in a group hug, crying and laughing in immense relief and elation. Rudy never felt this much happiness before. The feeling overwhelmed him, and it felt great.

sss

Over the next few days, Snap’s condition slowly improved. It didn’t happen overnight. Only some feeling had returned to his leg at first. Just enough that he could feel a little bit of pain if pricked. It was still something. The burns were starting to look better, and the fact that Snap could feel them at all was good news, even if the burns were still a little painful.

Movement in Snap’s legs didn’t return until a few days later, after complete feeling had returned to his lower part of his body. And the movement itself was gradual, similar to how it took a while before he no longer suffered blanks in his sensories. At first, he could only move his legs a little bit. As time went on, the range of motion increased. And by a week later, he had regained full movement of them.

And yet, Snap didn’t try to walk. He had wanted to wait until his burns completely healed before he attempted to set them on the ground. The burns wouldn’t heal for another couple days, at least enough that he didn’t feel the pain anymore. And even when he could try to walk, he was a little afraid, wondering if time off his feet had weakened his muscles a little.

But Rudy, Penny, Rapsheeba, Blocky, Lars, so many other zoners, they all were there for him, and they all helped the best way they could. They helped him out of the wheelchair and aided in him walking. Slow and steady at first. Snap was wobbly on his legs and he stumbled about. But two people were always holding his arms, keeping him steady so he wouldn’t fall down.

Every day, there would be a therapy session of sorts, with Snap’s friends helping him to walk again. They kept it simple at first. Just a straight line from one person to another. The distance was slowly increased, encouraging Snap to put some strength back in his leg muscles. Then they started challenging him, having him go up a small hill that slowly increased in height, having him make quick turns on a path, and even trying to get him to jog a little.

The process of regaining the use of his legs was quite long. It took almost a month of all this walking and running practice for Snap to finally no longer need the wheelchair. It was returned to the hospital. The doctors, especially Dr. Urso, were very happy to hear that Snap has made a full recovery, and they even sent him a ‘happy you are well’ card in the mail.

Snap’s mood took a turn for the better. He no longer suffered mood swings, or nightmares, or anything. The scars on his body faded, and eventually vanished. Even the mark in his head, symbolizing the terror bestowed upon him by Mr. Cosmo, had disappeared. Snap had returned back to how he was before Mr. Cosmo struck.

It was like nothing happened to him at all.

sss

Rudy stood on the icy slope. He looked around, trying to find any sign of Snap. He couldn’t see him anymore. He wondered where he could be. They were going to be late if he didn’t hurry up. He also wondered where Penny was. She said she was going to be here soon.

He looked down at his watch. He winced when he realized they were already late. They could still catch the good stuff if they hurried up. He looked around again, trying to see if he could find his friends. Just where were they?

“Hey Rudy!”

Rudy turned and saw Penny rushing up to meet him. He was disappointed that Snap wasn’t with her. Where could he possibly be?

“Hi, Penny!” Rudy called back to her.

Penny turned her head left and right. “Where is Snap?”

Rudy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. He should have been here twenty minutes ago. I don’t know what’s keeping him.”

“Maybe he forgot?” Penny suggested.

“No way!” Rudy shook his head, waving his hands. “He wouldn’t forget something like this! It’s one of his favorite sports!”

“Then I’m sure he will be here soon. We just have to wait.” Penny said, smiling.

Rudy knew she was right. He smiled back at her before turning his attention back towards ChalkZone. He continued to look around, but five minutes later, he still didn’t see Snap anywhere. He was about to take a step forward and go find him when he heard the sound of something sliding along the snow, heading right for them.

He and Penny turned to see Snap coming at them with a sled. He came to a stop between the two. He gave them both a huge grin and motioned with his hand.

“Come on! Hop on! Polar bowling has already started!”

Rudy climbed into the front while Penny sat behind Snap.

“Where were you?” Rudy asked. “I was waiting for you for a long time!”

“I’m sorry, Rudy. I had to take care of a few things first.” Snap said apologetically. “I guess time kinda got away from me.”

As Snap eased the sled over the edge, Rudy realized something familiar about this sled. It was the same one that Snap had used when Penny first went into ChalkZone. And this was the same formation they used when they went down the hill, although this time, Penny was not flying behind, holding onto his scarf.

“Now lets go!” Snap called out and he began to push the sled. “We don’t want to miss more of the game!”

Soon, the sled moved over the edge. The trio slid down. They let out whoops and yells of joy as they went down the hill, going straight to where the polar bowling was to take place. And as they slid down, Rudy felt a wave of relief hit him in the face as everything had truly returned to normal. After all their struggles against Cosmo, after they had almost lost everything they held dear, they had perservered, and they won.

They had truly earned their happy ending.


	46. Epilogue

Rudy stood on the grassy field for what seemed like hours, doing nothing but staring straight ahead. He felt hot even though the trees shaded him well. Yet he also felt chilly, even though there wasn’t a drop of rain in the sky nor a chilly wild sweeping through him. He wasn’t sure how to feel. Not around here. Nothing except grief.

Standing with him was Penny. She had wanted to come here, too. Rudy convinced his mother to take them here. It hadn’t been easy. It wasn’t like there was someone here that they themselves knew. Rudy told them they felt obligued to do it, and his parents decided not to question it any further.

The sun was starting to set. It casted beautiful colors on the horizon. The golden light still shot out, spreading across the sky, giving it a glow. Birds chirped and flew overhead, going towards the light as they went on their flight. A few squirrels grabbed some nuts that had fallen from the trees and zipped back up the bark. They were so fast, the two teenagers barely even noticed them.

The land wasn’t perfectly flat. It was a little hilly, though not too deep. It was all covered in grass. At least most of it was. The mild hills weren’t just merely grassy. They were rocky as well. Jetting out along the ground were rows and rows of concrete and stone. In perfect lines they stood, each one looking different than the other.

They were tombstones.

Rudy and Penny walked through the graveyard, eyeing the stones, looking for one in particular. One did catch their eyes, but it only brought forth a smal scowl from them. It belonged to Mr. Cosmo. Seeing the tombstone reminded them of the perils this one man put them through, how he almost took Snap from them. They wished he had survived so he would have recieved the punishment he deserved.

They did not dwell on it long. The man was gone and could no longer hurt them. They instead focused on locating the tombstone they came here for. And soon, a little further down, they found it.

Ms. Saffron’s grave.

They approached her tombstone slowly, their anger from before melted away into despair. They stood in front of the gave and stared at it. A small breeze swept through them, rolling some leaves in the background. They did not notice. All they could see was the gravestone in front of them, which they both knew belonged to the grave woman who helped them in their time of need, and lost her life over it.

There were times that Rudy still felt guilty about her death. He sometimes had nightmares about Ms. Saffron being killed, and being forced to watch it. He couldn’t tell anyone about it, except Penny and Snap. Both Penny and Snap agreed that it was a tragedy that Saffron died, but they did not think Rudy should keep blaming himself over it. Mr. Cosmo was one nasty person and, even if Rudy had warned her in time, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

Rudy pulled out the new chalkboard Penny got for him and drew a portal. In seconds, Snap stepped out, standing between Rudy and Penny. Snap had wanted to come here, too.

The trio stood in front of the gravestone for several minutes. They didn’t do anything. They just looked, still and unmoving where they stood. Memories flooded through their mind. They remembered how this woman, who they thought was their enemy at one time, helped them out. They were also reminded of Mr. Cosmo’s cruelty, and the torment they had to go through.

Rudy decided to speak. “Hey, Ms. Saffron... It’s me, Rudy Tabootie.” He paused for a moment, trying to think of what to say. “We..we did it. Mr. Cosmo is gone. He has been stopped. He won’t be hurting anyone else anymore. We...couldn’t have done it without you. I am so sorry that you aren’t able to be here right now, to be happy with us that this man can’t hurt anyone anymore...”

Rudy had to stop. Tears were getting in his eyes. This was harder than he thought. As he wiped them away, Penny was the next one to speak.

“It was really amazing how...even after knowing how Mr. Cosmo was..you were still willing to help us. You realized what you did was wrong, and instead of finding excuses, you tried to make things right.” Penny said. Her voice was choked with emotion. “If you hadn’t been there, we...we would have lost Snap. Th-thank you...for your help.. It’s terrible that...”

She started to cry. Rudy put his arms around her and hugged her.

Snap was the last one to speak. He didn’t say anything at first, as if trying to think of the words to say. He stared at the gravestone with saddened eyes.

“I...really would have loved to get to know you better, Ms. Saffron. You weren’t a bad person after all. Yeah I know I was a little skeptical of you at first. But you were also unsure about me. The important thing is that we both realized we were wrong about each other. And I am...so glad that you came to that realization..and tried to fix things. I appreciate all you have done for me. I..I wish we could have been...friends...”

“Rudy! We have to get going!” Mrs. Tabootie called.

The trio was reluctant to leave the gravestone. But they knew they couldn’t stay there long. One by one, they started to slowly walk away.

As they headed back, Rudy stopped and turned around. He grabbed some flowers that were growing out of the ground and went over. He gently laid them on the slightly raised mound.

“R-Rest in peace, Ms. Saffron..” Rudy said as he wiped away a tear.

He stayed there for a few seconds. Then he turned and walked away.


End file.
